The Veiled Coven
by Lauren-Jaye
Summary: While on the run, and looking for anything that would save her lover's life, Nora comes across a group of misfits that share similar life stories to her and Mary Louise. Meanwhile, a surprise encounter brings up painful and beautiful memories from their past, which causes some tension in the present.
1. Chapter 1

**THE VEILED COVEN**

 **A/N:** Hey Noralise fans! Thank you for checking out my fic. I hope I write something worth reading, so any comments/suggestions/likes are always appreciated. I wanted to quickly mention where this story starts off. I wanted to keep it in somewhat canon of season 7, but after the bullshit ending I had to change some things. Everything is pretty much the same; S7 canon wise, except that The Huntress never marked Nora, and never chased them. She's pretty much not a threat in this story. I didn't really care for that particular storyline anyway.

Hope I made sense there and didn't ramble too much? I don't know. I hated TVD's ending of Mary Louise and Nora, such a shame.

Story is mostly Noralise (will write their past), with my own characters I have created for this story.

P.S. I suck at summaries.

 **SYNOPSIS:** While on the run, and looking for anything that would save her lover's life, Nora comes across a group of misfits that share similar life stories to her and Mary Louise. Meanwhile, a surprise encounter brings up painful and beautiful memories from their past, which causes some tension in the present.

* * *

 **CHAPTER ONE**

THE moon, full and bloated, illuminated grassy planes lined with sparse trees, as Nora drove the car through the back roads of wherever the hell they were.

 _At least it's not Mystic Falls,_ Nora thought. She was more than happy to be far away from that dreadful town, and the current problem that plagued it. As far as she was concerned, Rayna Cruz was now the Salvatore brothers' problem, and she had no doubt that the two of them could use their combined brain cells to stop the Huntress once and for all. Nora's only concern now was sitting in the passenger seat of the car.

She briefly turned to face Mary Louise, whose head was resting on the window. Her health was quickly deteriorating, and for the last 45 hours, she remained unconscious, which worried Nora. However, in spite of that, she had hope that Mary Louise would be cured; after all, she had already surpassed Alex's 'dead within the week,' by an additional week and a half.

Nora clenched the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white. She wasn't a Ripper Vampire, but if she ever saw Alex again, she would take great pleasure in tearing the woman's throat out and displaying her mutilated corpse for everyone to see. Her stomach dropped as she remembered the day Mary Louise's health took a turn for the worse.

* * *

 _ **FOUR DAYS AGO**_

WHEN Nora returned to the abandoned warehouse where she parked the car to raid a Red Cross that was a block away, Mary Louise, with a blanket wrapped around her, was sitting up, head leaning on the seat, her feet touching the pavement, and she was looking out at the night sky.

"You can't see them anymore," Mary Louise said softly, as Nora slowly approached her with blood bags in her hands.

Nora stopped in front of Mary Louise. "See what?"

Mary Louise continued to look out at the sky, and after a long moment she finally answered, "The stars."

The answer took Nora aback, and she caught herself turning to look at the sky. She turned back to face Mary Louise, who was still fixated on nothing that was there.

"Here," Nora said as she held out a blood bag, which Mary Louise didn't seem to notice. "You should eat."

Mary Louise diverted her eyes from the sky. "Blood bag?"

"It's better than nothing, and you need to keep your strength. And all honesty, it isn't that bad."

Mary Louise smiled. Even looking deathly ill, Nora couldn't help but be smitten by her charm.

"You…take…good care of me." She struggled with her words, and Nora moved in closer.

"Just try. For me."

Mary Louise grabbed the bag. She had no appetite, but she would try, if only for Nora.

Nora smiled reassuringly as Mary Louise began to slowly drink from the bag. However, Nora's smile didn't last for long, when after the two large sips Mary Louise took, made her face contort in discomfort, and eventually vomit the blood back up.

After Mary Louise's coughing fit subsided, she looked over at Nora, and noticed that she had gotten blood on Nora's shirt. Her eyes began to water, and her lip quivered. "I've ruined your favourite top."

Nora looked down at her shirt, noticing the specks of blood, as if this shirt was bloody important.

"It's just a shirt," Nora said, but Mary Louise, out of guilt and shame, had already started to turn away from her, and put herself back into the car, leaving Nora frozen in the desolate parking lot.

* * *

NORA tried to shake that memory from her mind. A part of her wondered if she was being selfish in looking for an antidote that might not exist. The humane thing to do would be to end Mary Louise's suffering. That's what Alex had suggested. But she knew that Mary Louise would never put that burden on her. The other part, the one that motivated her the loudest, wondered if their love was strong enough to keep them together.

Suddenly, and without warning, a large lightning bolt descended from the sky, and struck the front hood of the car, causing Nora to lose control. The car jerked in an uncontrollable tailspin, causing it to strike a post on the side of the road. The impact flipped the car until it came to a halt upside down on the grassy field.

Nora, who was strapped behind the wheel, tried her best to look over at Mary Louise, who was still unconscious and probably had no idea what just happened.

"I'm going to get us out of here," Nora said aloud, and with her vampire speed and strength, she ripped off her seat belt and kicked open the driver side door, which skidded across the field.

As she slowly crawled out of the car, a pair of polished shoes, and someone, who wasn't there before, slow clapping, greeted her.

Nora looked up to see five men, all finely dressed, ranging in height and shape. The man in the middle, the one who was clapping, was roughly 6 feet, with dark hair and eyes with a pale complexion. He was muscular, but the men behind him were more built. He was also wearing a unique brooch that looked like a Triquetra, with a Templar symbol in the middle.

Nora picked herself up from the ground. It had been a couple of days since she last fed, and even though she might not be at full strength, she didn't scare easily.

"Impressive," The man said, and before Nora knew it he was in front of her, squeezing her neck hard. "But you're on my territory now."

With inhuman strength, he threw Nora, and she glided in the air until she hit the ground hard, landing a few feet away from the car door.

As Nora recovered from the impact, she heard one of the Man's Lackies say, "There is someone else in the car. A girl."

Nora quickly spun around, horrified. "Get away from her!"

The Leader, Nora presumed, just grinned. He turned to his friend. "Boris, do me a favour and pull that girl out. I want this one to watch us kill her."

"No!" Nora said, and she rushed toward the car, but was stopped by the Leader who grabbed her by the neck once more. She watched as Boris held Mary Louise's unconscious body.

With a wave of his hand, a large fire appeared in the middle of the field. "Boris, why don't you teach this trespasser a lesson, and show how far you can throw her friend into the fire."

"I think there is something wrong with her," Boris said noticing the marks on Mary Louise. "She don't look right."

Nora continued to struggle under the Leader's strength, and unable to use her magic against him. "Put…Her…Down."

The Leader grinned a sickly grin. "If you insist."

Boris suddenly threw Mary Louise in the air, and Nora could only watch with terror as her body reached closer to the fire. She closed her eyes.

"Prohibere," An unfamiliar female voice rang out in Latin, causing Mary Louise to freeze in mid air. "Extinctus," She continued, but she was nowhere to be seen, as the fire in the middle of the field disappeared. "Descendere."

Nora watched as Mary Louise was gently placed back down on the ground, and from the corner of her eye, she saw three people come out from a cloaking spell. The only woman was in her late twenties, and slightly taller than Mary Louise. She had olive skin, auburn hair, and hazel eyes.

One of the men beside her was at least 6'3, and muscular. He had a dark complexion, with dark eyes and hair, but a gentle face. He was in his late twenties, but didn't look it.

The other man was also tall, around the same height and age, with ash blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.

"If it isn't the three Musketeers," The Leader said. "Sage, Jonas, and Barron."

Barron, with the gentle face, stepped up. "Let them go, Cyrus."

"Or what?" Cyrus answered while squeezing Nora's neck a little harder.

"Or things are going to get ugly," Jonas answered, and from the corner of Nora's eyes, she could see both the men's eyes flash a bright yellowy-orange.

 _Werewolves._ Nora thought. _And on a full bloody moon too._

"Dimissus," Sage suddenly said, causing Cyrus to let go of Nora. Within moments, both Barron and Jonas had semi transformed into their werewolve selves, while still looking human, something Nora hadn't seen in her lifetime.

While Cyrus's gang began to fight back with the three other intruders, Nora fixated her attention on the man called Boris. He had touched Mary Louise, and he was going to pay. Within a flash, she was behind him and she sunk her teeth into his neck, quickly draining the blood out of him. It felt so good to have the warm liquid splash around her mouth and down her throat.

The four of them quickly took on Cyrus's gang, and when the battle was done, the only man left standing was Cyrus. He looked around at the blood bath that had just occurred, not expecting an outcome like this with all his men dead.

Nora, who had gained some strength back thanks to Boris, wanted to charge at Cyrus and make him suffer, but the moment she moved a muscle, a lightning bolt struck the ground, and Cyrus was gone.

A moment after the commotion, Barron turned to Nora, looking at the blood around her mouth. "You're a vampire."

Nora felt her body tense. Werewolves and Vampires were sworn enemies. "And you both"—she pointed to Barron and Jonas—"are werewolves."

"And a witch," Sage said causing the three of them to look at her. "Not that that's important…" She trailed off.

Nora shifted in her place. "Thank you for your help. If you don't mind me, I'll be on my way."

Jonas, who was looking at the blonde girl lying in the grass, asked, "What's wrong with your friend?"

"She was poisoned," Nora answered truthfully. "And she doesn't have much time left, so if you don't mind me, I'll be on my way."

Jonas pointed to the car. "In that?"

Barron shot Jonas a disapproving glance. "Look. I know you have no reason to trust us, and for that matter, we have no reason to trust you…but, we have a friend. Callum. He's human, but insanely smart—a genius, I think. He is an expert at these things."

"The Sanctuary is not too far from here. I can teleport all of us back," Sage added. "If you want the help, we'll try."

Nora was conflicted. These people had no reason to help, or be kind to her, but they were. She had been driving around for the past two weeks looking for something to cure Mary Louise, and found nothing.

"Please," Barron said, bringing Nora back to the conversation. "Let us try and help."

Nora turned to Mary Louise. It was the only option she had now.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

THE first thing Nora noticed when Sage had teleported the five of them in the foyer of what they called the Sanctuary, was the paneled wood walls that accented a grand, white, stair case. For a moment, she was reminded of the Whitmore home where she briefly stayed while in Mystic Falls.

"Callum!" Barron called out as he held Mary Louise's lifeless body.

Within moments, a young African American man, in his early twenties, appeared at the top of the staircase. He was tall and lanky, with glasses that didn't quite fit his face. He was a very strong contrast from Jonas and Barron.

As Callum made his way down the stairs he looked at the two new people that accompanied his friends. "Who are these people?"

Jonas and Sage exchanged a look. In all the excitement, they forgot to ask for a name.

Before Nora could answer, an older man and woman appeared from the back of the Sanctuary. The older man was in his sixties, but looked younger. He was of average height, and his hair was begging to turn a peppered grey. The woman beside him was in her mid-fifties. She had blue eyes, and short dirty blonde hair that rested just below her chin.

"What happened?" The woman called out as she noticed the blood on their clothes.

"That's what I want to know," Callum responded.

"We found these two being bothered by Cyrus," Jonas answered. "One of them has been poisoned. They're vampires."

The older man looked at Nora. "My name is Adam Cane. This is my wife, Cynthia."

Nora looked at Adam. "Nora. That's Mary Louise."

"And what happened to Mary Louise?" Adam asked. There was concern in his voice like he cared.

"She was poisoned with Rayna Cruz's blood by the Armory."

"The Huntress?" Adam's right eyebrow arched, "Her blood is only poisonous to witches…" He trailed off for a moment, and then put two and two together. "You're Siphoners."

Callum's eyes widened in excitement, and in a bare whisper he said, "Witchpires."

Nora ignored the young man and clenched her fists as she said, "The Armory said there was no antidote."

"No offense," Callum began to say. "But the Armory is a joke. They have no idea what they are doing. They just think they do."

Adam nodded his head. "I don't want to get your hopes up, but Callum and I will do everything we can to help your friend."

Nora felt her heart sink, but she acknowledged the gesture with a slight nod.

Adam turned to Barron. "Take Mary Louise to the med bay. Callum and I will have a look."

Barron followed Callum and Adam to the back as Nora watched helplessly.

* * *

IT had been exactly 3 hours, 45 minutes, and 11 seconds since Adam and Callum had taken Mary Louise into the medic bay. Nora, who wasn't allowed to enter, had been stuck outside pacing the corridor back and forth, and she realized the only time she had ever been scared was when it involved Mary Louise.

Cynthia came down to corridor with a mug in hand. Nora stopped pacing when she saw the woman who reminded her of Lily.

"It's not blood," Cynthia began. "It's chamomile tea. I didn't think you would be hungry."

Nora graciously accepted the tea. Cynthia had been right. Nora was wrought with concern that food was the last thing on her mind.

"Thank you," Nora said as she took the mug. "For everything." And she had meant it. For the past three years, she had been separated from Mary Louise and strapped to anything that would hold her down. She almost forgot what kindness felt like.

After taking a sip of the tea, Nora asked, "What is this place?"

Nora hadn't had much time to explore, but the décor reminded her of an extravagant castle.

"We call it the Sanctuary. Adam and I decided to make it a stop for those who were lost or had no one."

Nora was curious. "And you just…trust people…like them? Me?"

Cynthia laughed. "It sounds absurd, I know. But most people who come here are looking for something."

Cynthia continued, "For instance, Callum. Like Adam and I, he is human. Stuck in Foster care most of his life. We found him on the street when he was 18, and took him in. We found him in the library one day, having read most of our books, and we realized he had a beautiful mind that was wasted in the system."

"And then we found Sage. She was outcast by her Coven for refusing an arranged marriage between another Coven."

Nora could relate to that, after all, she was outcast by her Coven too.

"And then we found Barron and Jonas. Jonas was outcast by his pack because of a genetic defect that doesn't allow him to fully transform into a wolf. Barron as well suffers from the same condition, and as well was kicked out of his Pack. However, another pack adopted him, but he was left orphaned when they were massacred by an enemy."

Nora felt an odd sense of familiarity after hearing how they all came to be. Siphoners were treated as abominations for not being able to practice magic without a source, and in a way she could relate to Barron and Jonas in that respect for being born different than everyone else in her family. She could also relate with Barron losing his adopted family, like she had lost Lily, Beau, Oliver and Malcolm. She had no idea where Valerie was, and if she was even still alive, but she had no doubt the woman could take care of herself. And, the other thing she could relate to, like Sage, if you didn't fit in with what your Coven wanted, you were scorned and out casted.

"I know the feeling," Nora said after a moment.

"I thought you might," Cynthia added. "You have the same look in your eyes like they all had."

Nora wanted to ask Cynthia what exactly that look was, but was interrupted by the door to Medic bay opening and an exhausted Callum and Adam walking out.

She could feel her stomach drop a thousand feet as she looked at the both of them in the eyes. She swallowed hard, words not being able to come out of her mouth.

Adam could read the worry in Nora's eyes. "We were able to isolate the poison, and we found a treatment that seems to be working."

"It's not an instant cure," Callum continued. "The results won't be noticeable at first, and we expect it to be a long and hard recovery of a little over a month with the regime we have her on. But your friend is a fighter, and we expect her to be okay."

Nora was in shock, and she felt like she was dreaming. Her ears were ringing, and the only thing she could hear over and over again was that Mary Louise was going to be fine.

And that's all that mattered.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Thank you all for the reviews so far and following my story. It means a lot. As always, I hope I am writing something worth reading, so any comment is appreciated.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3**

IT had been a little over a month since Nora came to the Sanctuary, and as she sat at the Kitchen Island, with an open book on the counter, she couldn't help but think about her time here. These last few weeks had been enlightening for her. Once everyone in her family had died, or left, she thought for sure she would never find a family setting again, but these people here had surprised her, and she had bonded well with most of them, especially Cynthia, who reminded her a little of Lily. Even Mary Louise was making an effort, something she hadn't done in Mystic Falls. She liked it here, even if her meals came from a blood bag stored at the perfect human body temperature.

"What are you reading?" Came Cynthia's voice as she entered the kitchen. It was late at night and almost everyone had gone to bed or secluded themselves in their room.

Nora lifted the book, revealing the cover for Twilight. "Sage lent it to me."

Cynthia let out a small laugh. "And how do you like it?"

If Nora were being honest, she would have burnt the book on the spot. The plot was boring to her, and she couldn't understand why the female protagonist would be interested in either the vampire or the werewolf, who she found both to be extremely dull.

"You don't have to answer," Cynthia said. "Sage has interesting tastes in literature."

Nora would hardly call this literature, but then again, as much as she tried to fit in the modern world, there were still things that were better in her era.

Cynthia turned to Nora. "Are you hungry?" She turned her attention to the blood bag bank, which kept the blood heated at the perfect temperature to simulate fresh blood.

Nora shook her head. She had already had two blood bags today. "I'm fine, thank you."

Cynthia took a seat at one of the bar stools on the island. She had wanted to talk to Nora for some time now, but never had a chance to do so alone. "Do you like it here?"

Nora nodded her head. This place was beautiful, and it reminded her of England, with the old Castle vibe it had going on. The grounds were also well maintained, and the nights where she couldn't sleep, she found herself wondering the premise.

"I'm glad," Cynthia said.

"Have you ever had vampires pass through this place?" Nora asked.

"Once. Two of them."

"What happened?"

"I don't know to be honest. One day they were here, and then they weren't." Cynthia paused. "But I guess that's how it goes when you run a half way house. You don't know who will stay or go."

Nora detected a hint of sadness in Cynthia's voice. There were many aspects of this woman that reminded her of Lily. She was definitely maternal, and she cared a lot without asking for anything in return. As far as she could tell, there appeared to be no selfish bone in the woman's body.

"How is Mary Louise?"

"Resting," Nora answered. Callum had briefly explained the medical regime they had put Mary Louise on, and the simplest explanation that Nora could understand was like chemotherapy, but without the hair loss. Mary Louise was definitely getting better though, and that was evident by the lesions healing on her arm.

A sudden silence over came them. It wasn't uncomfortable it was just there.

After a moment Cynthia said, "Can I ask you something? Personal?"

Nora shrugged. "Sure."

"You and Mary Louise…you're more than just friends, aren't you?"

Nora felt a lump in her throat. They had been so cautious. _How could she possibly know?_

Cynthia noticed how tense Nora got. "I didn't mean to insult you. I, and well, everyone else, noticed the way you two look at each other."

Nora felt her cheeks burn red, and that was all the confirmation Cynthia needed to know her suspicions were right.

"What I am trying to say is that if you both are gay, if you both are a couple – it's okay. When people come here we want them to be themselves."

Nora still remained quiet. She was far from ashamed about whom she was, but she knew Mary Louise still struggled.

Cynthia got up from the stool, and she gave Nora a reassuring smile. "I think most people want to have someone look at them the way you two look at each other. I'm sorry you felt like you had to hide it for so long."

Before Cynthia left the kitchen, she put a reassuring hand on Nora's shoulder. "Have a good night."

* * *

NORA quietly opened the door to Mary Louise's bedroom. Every night for the past month, she would come into her room, shut the window that was open, and give a sleeping Mary Louise a kiss on the forehead, before returning to her own room.

Nora noticed Mary Louise lying on her side, facing the window. It had been a hot day, and the cool air felt nice in the room, so Nora didn't want to close the window just yet.

As Nora walked to the other side of the Queen sized bed, she did something out of routine, and lifted the covers before hopping inside and snuggling very close to Mary Louise, wrapping an arm around her, and resting her head in the croon of Mary Louise's neck.

Mary Louise, with her eyes still closed, smiled as she fell into the embrace. It had felt like a lifetime since they held each other, and neither of them wanted this moment to end.

A short while had passed, and sleep was starting to set in, when Mary Louise said, "Nora, what are you doing?"

Nora's voice was heavy with sleep. "I believe they call this 'Spooning'."

Mary Louise let out a genuine laugh at the absurdity of Nora's answer. She still wasn't familiar with the Modern Era, and the slang that went along with it, though she had been trying hard to adjust. However, she did have to admit to herself that she didn't hate this spooning thing one bit.

"No," Mary Louise reiterated. "I mean what are you doing here. What if they see us?"

"They know, Mare. It's okay."

Mary Louise's eyes flew open, and she shifted her position so she was facing Nora. "What do you mean they know?"

Nora's eyes met Mary Louise's. "They've seen the way we look at each other and put the pieces together."

"But we were so careful." There was concern in Mary Louise's voice. They had come a long way from the 19th Century that much Mary Louise was willing to admit. But the 21st Century still had its problems, and this place was still so new and unfamiliar.

"We can be who we are here, Mary Lou," Nora said as she cupped Mary Louise's face with her free hand. "We've lived in the shadows far too long. I'm tired of hiding my love for you. It kills me on the inside."

"As does me, my love," Mary Louise responded, before their lips collided in a long, over due kiss.

When they separated from the kiss, with loving smiles on their face, Nora said, "For tonight, let's not think about the past. I just want to hold you and never let go."

Mary Louise turned back toward the window, allowing Nora to move in closer. Having her lover's arms wrapped around her was a blissful feeling, and for the first time in three bloody years she was content.

Tonight she wouldn't think about the past. Tonight she would just enjoy this moment.

* * *

CYRUS wiped the palm of his hands on his pants as he entered the most sacred room in the Coven. He had been called by the Order, to answer for what had happened a month ago. If the rumors he heard about the Order were true, he had every right to be nervous.

The room was dark, and a small light in the center of the room illuminated three tiers of rows, with numerous elder members, and their families, sitting behind each. He couldn't make out any of their faces, as they were veiled in large cloaks. These people were to be revered, and they all wore the same symbol of the Triquetra with a Templar symbol in the middle.

"Speak," Came one of the Elder's voices. It was masculine, but Cyrus couldn't make out where it came from in the room.

"I was out with members of my group when we came across trespassers," Cyrus began. "We had almost succeeded when the Three Musketeers showed up."

This time a female Elder's voice responded. "You seem to encounter the flawed werewolves and out cast witch quite a bit."

"But in all those instances," Came another male voice from somewhere in the room, "You were the one that left them half dead before the witch spelled them out of the fight."

"What changed this time?" The same female voice questioned.

Cyrus was quiet for a moment, remembering the brunette female vampire savagely rip into Boris's throat. "There was another, unforeseen complication."

"And what complication would that be?" The female questioned.

"There was a Vampire. We had the upper hand, and I had her controlled, even found her weakness in an unconscious passenger in her car, but when the wolves and the witch showed up, they took us by surprise and when the Vampire escaped my grasp, she went after Boris."

"It sounds like they have been training," The first male voice said. "And I am guessing the aid of the Vampire helped."

"We are curious, Cyrus, to see whom these vampires are," The female voice said, and before Cyrus could say anything, he dropped to the ground, clutching his head as memories from that night were pulled from his brain and played around the darkened room as if it was on a screen projector.

A commotion erupted in the room, as the Elders and their families began to talk amongst themselves after seeing the Vampires. Cyrus, who was panting on the floor from that painful experience, couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but it was evident that it wasn't good. The Order had rarely, if ever, sounded concerned, and it made him wonder who exactly these Vampires were.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Quick thank you for your reviews, as always they are greatly appreciated. Any comments/suggestions/improvements are always welcome.

I also wanted to mention, doing some math timeline, 2016-136 is 1880, which is when Nora and Mary Louise started dating, after they got turned. I am assuming they were turned in their mid 20's…25-27? So I think, for this story purpose, Nora and Mary Louise were born sometime in the early 1850s, and were turned in the late 1870s. Taking creative liberties, ML was born in 1851, turned in 1878 at the age of 27, and Nora was born in 1853, and turned in 1878.

* * *

 **CHAPTER FOUR**

 _ **LONDON, 1878**_

MARY LOUISE shivered as rain heavily fell down, and she quickly scurried to find any shelter. Her tattered clothes were getting drenched, and her bare feet were bloody from walking the uneven streets.

She ducked into an alley that had a slightly extended curved roof, and sat underneath it, bringing her legs to her chest. She felt water drip from her face, and she wasn't entirely sure if it was from the rain or her own tears as well.

She turned her attention toward the front of the alley, where families were quickly hopping into their horse-drawn carriages to head home for the night. A wave of sadness overcame Mary Louise as she thought of her own family, and how she would never be able to go back home again.

In the distance, she could smell freshly baked bread, which somehow seemed to linger in the air long after the bakery closed. It had been three days since she last ate anything, and God, was she hungry.

She watched as rats ran past her—even they had a place to be, and even though she was incredibly tired, she knew she couldn't succumb to sleep, and she knew she wouldn't survive being out here much longer.

Putting her head in her lap, she closed her eyes for a moment, and pictures of her old life filled her head. She wasn't aware that she had fallen asleep, or for how long, but when her eyes opened again, the rain had stopped, and a rat was nibbling at her feet.

She quickly shooed the rat away, and thought now a good time to find somewhere else to spend her night. She was just about to get up, when she heard, from the other end of the alley, a large crash, and her attention turned to two men who were making their way closer.

One of the men seemed terrified of the other, as he was begging for his life.

Mary Louise watched as the man, who was dressed in a fine tailored suit, pick up the other man, who was double his size, as if he was nothing, and sink his teeth into his neck.

With a gasp of horror, Mary Louise got up from her spot, alerting the man she was there. And just as she was about to run in the opposite direction, he was right in front of her, and she could see the blood dripping down his face.

The surprise caused her to fall on the ground, revealing multiple wounds that hadn't healed properly on her stomach and arms, as well has scared ankles.

The man picked her up by her throat, his fangs flashing in the night. She gripped his arm, revealing similar markings on her wrist. She met his blue eyes, and was able to Siphon magic off of him to let her go.

The man looked shocked as he winced in pain from the small burn the woman inflicted on him. He watched her run clumsily in the dark, before he met her on the other side.

This time when Mary Louise saw him, his expression was different. Softer.

"You're a Siphoner," He said matter-of-factly as he took off his jacket and placed it around the young girl's shoulders.

Mary Louise was too scared to move, and too confused to ask if he was going to kill her.

"My name is Malcolm. Why don't you come with me and we can get you a proper meal, some new clothes, and a warm place to stay for the night? And then, when you're ready, you can meet Lillian and the rest of my friends who all happen to be like you as well."

Malcolm extended his hand, and after a moment of hesitation, Mary Louise took it.

* * *

CALLUM twirled in his chair in the Medic Bay, as Mary Louise sat on the exam table. It had become a standard routine at the end of every week to see how much of the poison was left in her blood, and how much of the potent antidote she needed to have course through her veins to make sure it didn't replicate.

Mary Louise watched one of Callum's machines quickly spin a vial of her blood. "How much longer until the blood-spinning-thing stops?"

Callum stopped spinning to look at Mary Louise. With a long sigh he said, "For the last time, it's called a centrifuge. And it should be done any second now."

No sooner said, the machine beeped and Callum slid the chair over to it, carefully taking out the blood vial. Mary Louise watched as he took a blood drop and put it on a microscope slide before putting it underneath the microscope. He looked in it for a couple of minutes, and she watched as he adjusted the knobs on the scope. He was always quiet when he ran the tests, and it always felt like an eternity.

The other drops of blood were run on a different computer, and within moments a print out appeared. She couldn't begin to understand what the print outs meant, but she trusted Callum knew what he was doing.

After a moment he twirled his chair around again to face Mary Louise.

"So. How do you feel?"

Mary Louise took a look at her arm. When the poison was first given to her, her flesh began to painfully rip open, and never healed. Now, there was almost no sign of the wounds. "Much better. My appetite has come back. I have a little more energy than before, and I am not as cold as I used to be."

"That's all good to hear," Callum answered. "Because your test results show a clean bill of health."

Mary Louise's eyes widened. "Really?"

Callum nodded his head. "There are no traces of the poison. By next week, no more antidote for you."

Mary Louise jumped off the exam table and hugged Callum. She was certain she was going to die when she was poisoned, accepted that was her fate.

"Thank you," Mary Louise said as she parted from the hug.

"You're welcome," Callum said, slightly taken aback by Mary Louise's display of friendship.

"I have to tell Nora the good news," Mary Louise said, and within a blink of an eye she was gone from the room.

Callum smiled to himself as he said, "Vampire super-speed. So cool."

* * *

MARY LOUISE found Nora sitting out in the Court Yard on a stone bench, away from Barron and Jonas, who were practicing their sword fighting while Sage watched. Sometimes Mary Louise wondered if Sage knew both Barron and Jonas had feelings for her, and she was grateful that in her 165 years of life, she never had to endure a love triangle.

Nora, sensing someone behind her, turned around to see Mary Louise. She hated when Mary Louise had to go in for tests. Every week she had hoped the poison would be out of her system, and every week they still found traces.

Mary Louise sat on the stone bench next to Nora, allowing Nora to rest her head on Mary Louise's shoulder. She was too afraid to ask for the results. So instead she brought up a different topic.

"Do you think about them?"

"Our family?" Mary Louise asked. "All the time."

"On days like today I think about them the most. And I wonder, how different would our lives be if they were still here."

Mary Louise nodded. There were days where she missed them terribly, and other days where she was reminded of how dysfunctional they all were. Form Valerie for killing Oscar, to Julian manipulating her and everyone else in their family, to Lily keeping secrets. It was a shock they managed to survive for as long as they did.

"And do you like this place?" Mary Louise asked, even though she knew the answer. Sometimes, when Nora wasn't paying attention, she would observe her interacting with the members of this little family and how genuinely happy she seemed to be.

"I don't hate it," Nora answered. "The people here are nice, and they saved your life which I will forever be grateful for."

"I am grateful for that too. Callum just gave me a clean bill of health."

Nora suddenly got up from the stone bench. "Are you serious?" Her eyes were watering, and there was a smile on her face from ear-to-ear.

Mary Louise stood up so she was level to Nora, and grabbed her hands. "If you hadn't been so iron-willed, I would not be here."

Nora shook her head. "Don't talk like that."

"But it's true. I owe a lot to these people for helping me, but it's you Nora. When you rescued me from the place, you never gave up on me even when I gave up on myself."

Nora threw her arms around Mary Louise and kissed her hard on the lips, as a weight she had been carrying had finally been lifted.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Thank you all for the reviews. My writing isn't the best, so I am hoping I write something worth reading so any comments/suggestions/tips/improvements are always welcome. Also, as I am busy with work, most updates will happen on the weekend.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 5**

 _ **LONDON, 1878**_

WHEN Malcolm found and rescued Nora, she had been crying, and she hadn't stopped crying until he brought her to her new home.

Lily was the first to see the petite brunette, whose eyes were red from crying and face stained with the aftermath of her own tears. "What happened?"

"The same old," Malcolm said in a hushed voice. "Her Coven and family tried to kill her, and they would have succeeded if I hadn't killed them all first."

Nora looked at her new surroundings. There were other people here watching her. People she didn't know.

In the back of the small room that could barely fit a family of four, was a tall, African American man. His eyes were kind, and he gave a small, reassuring smile. Beside him was another man. He was short, slightly chubby, and of Asian descent. He also smiled, but it was goofy—the joker of the bunch, clearly. There was a woman, tall, with fair skin and strawberry blonde hair. She looked as though she was studying her, and at the same time also looked uncomfortable being beside another man, of average height and sandy blonde hair. His smile was wicked, and Nora felt a lump rise in her throat.

"What's your name?"

Nora turned her attention back to the older woman, whose eyes seemed to sparkle. She reminded Nora of her mother, and when the stranger placed a comforting, maternal hand on her shoulder, a fresh wave of tears pooled into Nora's eyes.

"Nora," She choked out after a moment.

"Nora. What a lovely name. I am Lillian, but you can call me Lily. You have already met Malcolm. And standing in the back over there"—she pointed to each person from the way Nora first saw them –"is Beau, Oscar, Valerie and, the love of my life, Julian."

Nora gave a small nod. On her way over, Malcolm had already explained that the people here, aside from Lillian and Julian, were all Siphoners who were outcast by their Coven.

Just as Nora turned back to face Lily, the door to the home barged open, startling her. She turned to see a woman, with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes enter and she instantly became transfixed.

"Those sodding people! They are lucky I didn't kill them where they st—" The blonde woman abruptly stopped talking, not realizing that they had company. She looked at the guest.

"And that," Lily began to say, not noticing that the two women were suddenly fixated on each other. "Is Mary Louise."

Nora took her eyes off of Mary Louise and focused back on Lily.

Lily smiled as she cupped Nora's face with both her hands. "I have a very important question for you, Nora. Would you like to join our family?"

* * *

THE morning sun peaked through the half drawn curtains of their room, while Nora sat nervously at the edge of their bed, fidgeting with her hands. Her nervousness was not without reason. It started last night after dinner, when everyone was celebrating Mary Louise's recovery, and both Adam and Cynthia had asked if the two of them would like to stay here permanently. As a family.

The news had come as an unexpected shock to both of them, and Adam, Cynthia, and the rest of them, understood their hesitation in answering right away, after all, they had just lost their family they had known for over a century.

In fact that same night, as Mary Louise slept curled next to her, Nora was contemplating the offer. Part of her felt guilty for wanting to stay here, as if it was a slap in the face to Lily and the rest of the Heretics. Another part of her knew that her family was gone and if anything Lily would want her to find happiness—not that she wouldn't be happy with just Mary Louise – but the idea of having a family, no matter how it came to be, always appealed to Nora.

Another issue, which gnawed at the pit of Nora's stomach, was Mary Louise. She loved this woman dearly, but she knew how stubborn she could be. She was afraid that deep down, Mary Louise wouldn't be able to—wouldn't want to—co-exist with three humans, a witch, and two werewolves. She remembered quite clearly Mary Louise's hesitance for change back in Mystic Falls, and what exactly she thought of humans. She also remembered the break up after she had suggested trying something different.

Nora had been fortunate enough to spend time with Bonnie, and in that time she had learned to appreciate the good that was still in the world, something the Heretics had forgotten after being imprisoned for over a Century. She only wished the other members had found the same thing before their untimely end.

The door to the washroom opened, and Mary Louise stepped out, making her way to the dresser. "You're still here?"

Nora quickly glanced at Mary Louise, but didn't say anything.

"I thought you would be downstairs by now," Mary Louise added as she contemplated what earrings she wanted to wear.

Nora still didn't respond, and Mary Louise, through the reflection of the mirror that hung on the wall above the dresser, could tell something was wrong.

Mary Louise sighed as she turned to face Nora. "What's wrong?"

Nora looked Mary Louise in the eye. "Nothing."

Mary Louise half laughed as she leaned against the dresser. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Everything's…good," Nora said. "I was just waiting…for you."

Mary Louise rolled her eyes. "My love, we have been together for over a century. I know when something is bothering you. And something is clearly bothering you. So, are you going to tell me what it is or not?"

Nora averted her eyes, looking at the random paintings in the room, and the texture of the ceiling.

Mary Louise knew she was stalling. "I am pretty sure the décor is not what is bothering you."

Nora sighed, and in a low voice she said, "I was thinking about the offer. And…And I want to stay here."

Mary Louise uncrossed her arms and blinked twice registering exactly what Nora had just said.

After what seemed like an eternity, Nora spoke. "Please. Say something."

"I don't know what to say," Mary Louise responded. "When did you decide this exactly?"

"I was thinking about it last night."

"A decision like this doesn't happen overnight, Nora. You must have been thinking about this for some time."

Nora swallowed hard, a sense of déjà vu washing over her. "I was just thinking we could try something different." Her voice cracked, "I miss being part of a family. I mean look at us. Our first families tried to kill us. Our second family got us imprisoned for a century, where we were desiccated for most of it. I just want to see what is here. Together."

Mary Louise didn't respond, and Nora tried to search her eyes to see if there was anything that might hint at what she was thinking.

"We should head downstairs," Mary Louise finally said. "They are probably waiting for us."

Nora's shoulders dropped in defeat as Mary Louise exited the bedroom.

* * *

"HEY!" Cynthia said as she smacked her dishtowel at Barron's hand. "No snacking."

Barron laughed as he quickly popped a strawberry in his mouth.

"Are we having company?" Mary Louise commented as she entered the kitchen, noticing the abundance of food. Nora followed her shortly after.

"Not exactly," Sage said. "Just Barron and Jonas have like a super fast metabolism."

"Crazy fast," Callum added. He then turned to Nora and Mary Louise. "We also just got a stock of fresh human blood bags, enough to last awhile, in case you need something with more nutritional value. They are in the blood-try, if you want it."

"Do you have to call it a 'blood-try?'" Jonas asked. "It just sounds weird."

"How does a blood-try sound weird? It's like a pantry…for blood."

"Exactly," Jonas answered. "Weird."

"Thanks," Mary Louise said.

Barron sat down at the Kitchen Island. "So. Have you two decided if you are staying or not?"

"Barron!" Cynthia said. "Give the girls time!"

"Actually," Mary Louise said, and for a moment her eyes wondered over to Nora, who was sitting at the table, looking distant. "We have. I just wanted to say that this last month has been nice. You all have went above and beyond for two complete strangers, and I will forever be grateful to you all for saving my life."

Mary Louise's eyes wondered back to Nora for brief moment. She could tell Nora was bracing herself for the worst.

"And, if the offer still stands, Nora and I would love to become part of this family."

Sage's delightful squeal brought Nora back to reality as Jonas hugged her from behind. She turned to look at Mary Louise who had a smile on her face.

Nora got up from her chair and walked over to Mary Louise, grabbing her hand and leading her away from the excitement of Sage proclaiming that there was now going to be more girls in the house.

"Mare," Nora said in confusion. "What's this all about? I for sure thought"—

Mary Louise cut Nora off. "You were right. Back in Mystic Falls, I was afraid of everything. And I reacted out of fear. It was harder for me to adjust because a part of me still felt trapped in that Prison World, and I kept myself there. After the Armory had tortured me for so long, I forgot what kindness felt like, and when these people showed it to me, it made me realize how much I hated myself back in Mystic Falls."

Nora smiled a genuine smile.

"I mean, we are still vampires, but maybe…maybe there is a different way to do things. Maybe, we can learn from the Salvatore brothers and Caroline. They seemed to co-exist nicely, while still being"—

Now Nora interrupted. "Blood sucking vampires?"

Mary Louise chuckled. "Yes."

"Together?"

"Always."

"Okay. I think breakfast is pretty much done," Cynthia said, as Adam came into the kitchen with a large, antique book in his hand.

"I heard Sage all the way in the library." He quickly turned to look at Mary Louise and Nora, and with a welcoming smile he added, "I am glad you both have decided to stay here."

With a serious look he continued, "I don't mean to ruin the celebration, but I think I found something really important you all might want to see."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** I wasn't too happy with the way I wrote chapter 5, so I hope going forward I will improve my writing. As always, thank you for the reviews. I truly appreciate them.

* * *

 **CHAPTER SIX**

THE kitchen table was, for the time being, converted into Adam's workstation, as he laid out a large book with foreign writing and oddly drawn symbols. Most of the people surrounding the table had no idea what they were looking at, but by the concerned looks on both Adam and Callum's face, they could tell this was serious.

"Whoa," Callum said while stepping back from the book. He looked directly at Adam, and they seemed to be the only two who knew what any of the symbols meant. "Are you sure?"

Adam nodded his head. "Well we already figured that these veiled people were members of a Coven. Which one? We couldn't pin point. And after seeing this, I don't think they belong to any Coven. I think they branched off and became their own secular one."

Sage and Jonas quickly exchanged a confused glance, and Cynthia could see that her husband had lost a couple of people in his rambling including herself.

"What I mean to say," Adam said, "is that this Coven is taking bits and pieces of archaic scriptures, and incorporating it into their own practice."

Callum pointed to a symbol on the open page. "And if what they say is true, these passages talk about a human sacrifice, about draining the blood of an innocent and feeding it to their devoted members."

Nora's eyebrow arched. "You mean Vampires?"

Adam shook his head. "No. If they become Vampires, they'll lose their magic. This is about taking blood and making their magic stronger. How? I won't know that until I get more information."

Barron, who was quietly eating his pancakes, asked, "And how are you going to do that?"

"According to the text, a sacrifice is supposed to happen after four full moons. " Adam answered. "I believe one is going to take place tonight."

"And your plan is?" Jonas asked.

"Well, to stop the ritual, and then see if they left any source material behind I can learn from," Adam answered.

Nora smiled, liking the idea of getting out of the house and stretching out her fangs. "When and where?"

Cynthia glanced up at Nora. "Absolutely not! I don't want any of you risking your lives for our battles." Her eyes went over to Sage, Jonas and Barron. "It's bad enough that the last times you three went up against these people you were left either bruised, broken, or nearly dead."

The concern in Cynthia's voice was palpable, and Adam had to agree. He couldn't risk losing anyone.

Barron didn't agree. "But now we have two Heretics on our side. We have a chance."

"We didn't ask you all to join this family to exploit your abilities," Cynthia reminded.

"But that's what we are now," Nora said. "Family. And family helps each other, no matter what the risks may be."

Adam ran a hand through his hair. "I appreciate the sentiment, guys. But there are some things that I have to do. I should have never involved the three of you in my affairs to begin with."

"We want to help," Jonas said with emphasis. "What good is our abilities if we aren't allowed to use them?"

"Also," Callum said, "and no offense, but you're old."

"And human," Mary Louise finished.

Adam looked at Callum and Mary Louise. They both had a point. He was no longer in his prime condition.

"We can take care of ourselves," Sage said. "We can do this. Have faith in us. Let us go."

"And if you don't," Mary Louise continued, "we can compel you otherwise."

Adam sighed. "No one will be compelling anyone. I guess if there is no reasoning, we can go tonight."

Callum straightened his posture. "Actually, I was wondering if I could go in your place instead. I never get to go out in the field with these guys, and I know what to look for."

"We'll make sure he is safe," Barron said for added assurance.

Adam looked over at Cynthia. They were both torn.

Adam sighed. "Fine. But just so you are all clear, I am not happy about this. I never wanted to drag you all into this."

"We won't let you down," Jonas said.

Adam felt a knot in his stomach. They could never let him down. He was never worried about that. What he, and Cynthia, were worried about is one of them never coming home. And that thought alone was worse than death.

* * *

"THIS should be the place," Sage said as she laid out the map Adam had drawn for them, on the hood of the van that was discreetly parked. A large Triquetra Symbol covered the map, in the center, where the Templar symbol should have been, is where Adam thought the ritual might take place.

Callum looked out at the night sky, and then toward a mining shaft that was blocked off. It reminded him of every single horror movie he ever saw.

The six of them began to make their way toward the entrance. They mostly walked in silence until Nora spoke.

"So, what's Adam and Cynthia's deal?"

The four exchanged looks before Barron answered. "Back in the 90s, they were driving home with their three kids in the back, and one on the way home, a supernatural being attacked their vehicle."

Sage continued, "Their children and unborn died instantly. They were left critically hurt. To this day, they have no idea who attacked them or why."

Both Nora and Mary Louise took the information in. They hadn't known that about the Cane family.

"If a supernatural being attacked them," Nora said as they all entered the dark mining shaft, "why do they take in people like us?"

Jonas turned back to look at Nora. "Because a supernatural being also saved their lives. It was too late for the kids, but some Vampires healed their injuries with their blood as much as they could.  
"But still, the accident changed them. Cynthia could no longer have children of her own, and they both became obsessed with finding who did this to them. It almost ruined their marriage, until they decided to turn their grief into something positive."

Nora felt saddened that Adam and Cynthia had to go through that, but she was fascinated at their ability to change and adapt. It reminded her of Lily, and how badly Lily wanted to change from her Ripper ways. If only they hadn't been too stubborn to see it. She guessed the modern saying was true, that it only takes one event to change your perspective on everything.

The six of them kept walking further into the mineshaft, but stopped once their flashlights hit a dirt wall.

"Are we sure we got the right place?" Barron asked. The smell of rotted wood filled the air, and it looked like they had reached a dead end.

Callum took out the map, and laid it on the dirt wall as he held the flashlight in his mouth. He made some incoherent mumbling noises that only Sage seemed to understand.

"He says it's the place."

Jonas began to run his hands over the wall. "Maybe there is a trap door somewhere."

Mary Louise decided to walk closer toward the dead end, and as she stepped on the wooded floor plank, it gave out a loud cracking noise, and she fell straight down.

"Mary Lou!" Nora screamed, and she rushed toward the giant hole in the ground. She shined her flashlight down, but couldn't see any sign of Mary Louise, and she wasn't answering either. "Mary Lou!"

"Scalaria," Sage quickly said, using her magic to make a staircase out of dirt and pieces of wood. Nora wasted no time in rushing down the stairs, calling out her lover's name.

Mary Louise was sitting up on the ground, with an agitated look on her face as she pulled out some of the wood chunks that embedded themselves in her left arm, and a sizeable wood chunk that was still in her left thigh. She was fortunate that it had missed her heart.

"Mare," Came Nora's relieved voice as she rushed toward Mary Louise. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Mary Louise said pulling the last bit of wood from her arm.

Callum, who noticed the wood chunk in her thigh, said, "Are you sure? That doesn't look too good."

Mary Louise pulled the wood chunk out of her leg and tossed it on the ground, without so much as a flinch. "I'll heal. And on the plus side, I at least found a way in."

Nora lent a hand to Mary Louise and pulled her up. "Don't joke like that."

Mary Louise found it adorable that Nora cared that much, and entwined her arm in Nora's as the followed Jonas and Barron further into the mineshaft.

"We're getting close," Barron suddenly said after they had walked about a block in silence.

"How do you know?" Sage and Callum asked simultaneously.

"We can hear chanting," Nora answered.

"I always forget you guys have insane super-senses," Callum said. "Still cool though."

"Also, now would be a good time to put us in a cloaking spell," Jonas added.

Nora and Mary Louise smiled at each other, doing the honors and cloaking everyone.

They walked another block, and then turned a corner where light from torches illuminated a gate made from steel. A few feet down from where they were, was a stone alter, and a young woman, maybe aged 19, tied down, as a large Veiled man stood over her with a curved, inscribed, dagger. To the other side, were twenty other veiled members, chanting something Nora, Mary Louise, and Sage didn't recognize.

As they all shut off their flashlights, Barron noticed they were severely out numbered. "So…what's the plan?"

"Are these the same group of people that tried to kill me when I was unconscious?" Mary Louise asked.

"Those would be them," Sage answered.

Mary Louise smirked. "I say I go up behind the man with the dagger and tear his heart out. I'll free the girl, and compel her to leave with Callum to safety. The surprise alone should give the rest of you an advantage, and then we slaughter the rest of them."

Nora swooned. "She does do a good job at tearing peoples hearts out."

For a moment Callum could swear the two of them were giving each other heart eyes.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Jonas said.

Sage was looking at the ritual, noticing the Veiled Man raise his dagger. "Good. Because, he's about to kill her."

Within seconds, Mary Louise had disappeared, and the five of them watched in anticipation.

The Veiled Man was about to lower the dagger when Mary Louise appeared from behind, her hand sticking out of his chest. The dagger fell to the floor, and the chanting stopped.

Mary Louise pulled her hand out, and pushed the now-dead Coven member to the side, where he fell to the ground. She looked at the heart that was now in her hand, and then toward the still stunned Coven members.

"Oops." Mary Louise said. "Did he need this?"

The Coven members finally snapped out of the shock, and they began to rush Mary Louise, but they were quickly stopped by Sage's magic, and Barron and Jonas, who had pounced on a couple of members.

Mary Louise looked directly at the terrified girl, and as she ripped off the restraints and looked directly in her eyes, she said, "Listen to me. Take my friend's hand. Leave with him. You will be okay."

The girl quickly sat herself up on the Alter, before jumping down and making her way over to Callum's outstretched hand. She had almost reached him, when another Coven member stepped in front of her way. Mary Louise was going to react, but before she could Nora appeared from behind him and sunk her fangs into his neck, allowing Callum to grab the girl and head back up where they came.

Mary Louise turned her attention to the fight. Sage, Barron, and Jonas were handling themselves, and Nora looked as if she was having a grand time killing the Coven members. Mary Louise turned her attention to the corner of the room, noticing one of the members trying to escape. Her eyes turned blood red, as her fangs appeared. It took her less than a second to attack her prey.

When it was finally over, there was no Coven member left standing.

"What a blood bath," Callum said as he came back into the room.

"How's the girl?" Barron asked, reverting back to his human form.

"She's in the van. She has a couple of minor bruises, but she should be fine, physically." Callum turned to Mary Louise and Nora. "One of you will have to compel her to give us her address and forget that this night has ever happened."

Mary Louise used her foot to kick one of the Coven members to their side. There was nothing remarkable about them. "What exactly are we looking for?"

"Information," Callum said as he used his phone to take pictures of the Alter, and some of the members' robes. "Anything that will clue us in as to who they are."

"That's not at all vague," Nora said as she wiped the blood from her mouth and made her way over to the dagger. She found it interesting—how it was shaped and the words on it. She bent down to pick it up.

"Shit!" Nora exclaimed, immediately dropping the dagger. She looked at the palm of her hand that had a burn mark.

Mary Louise looked concerned. "What's wrong?"

"That bloody knife burned me!"

"Maybe vampires can't handle it?" Sage suggested as she made her way over to the dagger. She reached down to grab it, and immediately recoiled her hand. "Son of a bitch!"

"It burned you too?" Mary Louise asked as Sage looked down at her palm.

"Well I guess we can rule out just vampires not being able to touch it," Jonas said.

"Except that dagger has a lot of information on it," Callum said. "How the hell are we going to bring it back to the Sanctuary?"

Barron made his way toward the dagger. He was hesitant, but this was important. With his eyes closed, he bent down and picked it up. After a moment, when he didn't react in pain, he opened his eyes.

"How the bloody hell did that not burn you as well?" Nora asked.

"Maybe it doesn't work on werewolves," Jonas said as he approached Barron and the dagger. He touched it without problem.

Callum was curious now, but things like this always fascinated him. "Let me try."

Barron handed the dagger to Callum, and it didn't seem to hurt him either.

"This is so cool," Callum said as he looked at the markings. "Unbelievable."

"Yes. The knife that burned my girlfriend is fascinating," Mary Louise said sarcastically. "Can we get out of this place now?" She pointed to the dead bodies on the ground. "These people aren't that much fun anymore."

"I think we have everything we need," Callum said. "I'll probably have nightmares for weeks, but I think we gathered enough."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews.

* * *

 **CHAPTER SEVEN**

 _ **LONDON, 1877**_

MARY LOUISE looked up at the sky, watching the birds fly by, while lying down on the grassy field, in the middle of spring.

A woman's laughter refocused her attention, and she hoisted herself up to see her friend, with jet-black hair and green eyes, make her way up the hill. She smiled once she saw her.

"You'll never believe what just happened," The woman said as she plotted herself down next to Mary Louise.

"Do tell," Mary Louise said in anticipation. This woman was her dearest and oldest friend whom she cared deeply about. She could listen to her talk all day about everything and nothing.

The woman, named Victoria, smiled devilishly, as if she was keeping a naughty secret. "I saw Thomas by the lake. He smiled and winked at me."

The excitement in Mary Louise's face disappeared, and it was replaced by disappointment and annoyance.

"Why the sour look?" Victoria commented as she caressed Mary Louise's arm.

Mary Louise swallowed hard. For some time she had felt there were things different about her. One of those things seemed to amplify every time she was near Victoria. While most girls her age were already married off and having children, or soon to be married, her only want in life was to be near Victoria all the time.

"Well?" Victoria said again.

Mary Louise looked back up at the afternoon sky. "I don't think Thomas is the one for you."

Victoria let out a laugh. "That is what you said about John, and George, and Charles. Is there anyone good enough for me?"

Mary Louise turned back to Victoria. "Do we have to have this talk now? I am sure there is someone out there for you."

Victoria sighed. "And what about you?"

"What about me?" Mary Louise asked.

"You've turned down every courtship, from David, Henry, Clarence – all suitable men."

Mary Louise shrugged. "They bored me to tears."

"You did not even give them a chance."

"I gave them plenty of chances!" Mary Louise said defensively, with a flash of anger in her eyes. "I cannot help it if they were all awfully dull."

Victoria sighed. "Very well. But for a moment: close your eyes. Who would your ideal husband be?"

Mary Louise rolled her eyes, but eventually complied because it made Victoria happy.

"Now then," Victoria said, "who do you see?"

"I see blackness," Mary Louise responded. "This is foolish."

"You are not even trying. Clear your mind like the day sky, and picture the one you would love. Focus on that feeling."

Mary Louise shifted in her position and took a deep breath. None of the men she knew were worth even a second thought in her head. But if she focused on a feeling, her mind pictured long dark hair blowing in the wind, and green eyes meeting hers. She pictured her hands entwined in Victoria's, and days spent laughing. She could vividly see Victoria's smile brighten up even the cloudiest of days. She could spend the rest of her life as an unmarried woman and be content as long as she had Victoria.

"Well?" Victoria finally asked. "Who did you see?"

"I saw…I saw someone beautiful and caring, with dark hair and eyes that sparkle in the sun. Someone who is carefree, with a smile so beautiful it would make one stop dead in their tracks."

"It's like you just described Thomas," Victoria said as she laid her head down on the grass. Mary Louise followed suite, her head briefly turned to watch Victoria look at the sky. They were lying so close together that there arms were touching.

They laid in silence, Mary Louise not wanting this moment to end.

Victoria suddenly sat upright, a concerned expression on her face. "Dear me. What if Thomas did like me back? I haven't kissed a man in my life."

Mary Louise slowly sat up right, a look of confusion on her face. This outburst seemed so sudden.

"I haven't kissed a man, Mary Louise. How will I know what to do?"

"I am afraid your guess is as good as mine," Mary Louise answered.

"I know!" Victoria proclaimed. "I will practice."

"On whom?" Mary Louise asked.

"On you!" Victoria said, and Mary Louise almost choked on air.

"On me?" Mary Louise questioned, her heart skipping a beat.

"Yes, silly, on you. You're the only one here. Now sit up."

Mary Louise felt her heart beat faster as Victoria positioned herself across from her. Sometimes, she would have dreams of kissing Victoria that would seem so real, only to wake up and find herself in her bed alone.

"Ready?" Victoria asked, but Mary Louise was nervous, and the only sound she heard in hear ears was the loud beating of her racing heart.

Victoria's eyes moved down to Mary Louise's lips, and she slowly started to move her head closer. Mary Louise had wanted this moment to happen for some time, and she closed her eyes while also leaning in, waiting in anticipation for their lips to meet.

The sound of Victoria's laugh caused Mary Louise to open her eyes, their lips never meeting.

"Oh my heavens," Victoria said between giggles. "Could you imagine if we actually kissed? What an absolute depravity that would be. The thought of kissing another woman is enough to make me ill." She got up from the grass, her dress blowing in the wind. "Come, Mary Louise. Let us go to the lake and see if Thomas has a less dull friend you can meet."

Mary Louise, who was still sitting on the grass in shock, watched as Victoria made her way down the hill. Her eyes suddenly blurred with tears, and for the first time in her life she had felt heart break, like there was some invisible force crushing her heart and taking all the air out of her lungs at the same time. She also felt an incredible amount of shame, and up until this day she had never felt disgusted in loving another woman, until the woman she loved told her it was immoral and wrong.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Thank you all for the reviews. I am surprised people are actually reading this, so it means a lot to me when you like/comment. Any tips on writing improvements are greatly appreciated. Thank you again.

* * *

 **CHAPTER EIGHT**

ADAM had been holed up in the library for the past two days, only coming out for meals. He had kept quiet on the information they had brought back, and today he was finally ready to share some of his findings.

As they all sat around the large oak table in the library, which was littered with open books, and paper that had Adam's scribbles on it, Adam made his way to the screen projector and shut off the lights.

"Ooh. Power Point. This is going to be fancy," Sage commented as she sat back in her chair. Nora and Mary Louise looked at each other and shrugged not knowing what a Power Point was.

Adam stood to the side of the screen projector. "Before I begin though, I would like to thank you all for your extraordinary work that night. You all did a good job in stopping the ritual and gathering crucial information."

A sense of pride washed over Mary Louise, something she hadn't felt in a long time. It was a good feeling, and she couldn't help but smile. _Maybe doing some good isn't so bad after all,_ she thought.

A picture of the dagger appeared on the screen, causing Sage to wince. Her hand was healing, and the pain now was barely a dull ache, but the memory of it alone was enough to make her skin crawl.

"I believe this dagger was cursed so that if any other witches touched it, it would burn them," Adam said. "Which is why it burnt Nora, Sage, and most likely would have burned Mary Louise if she touched it. It also explains why the rest of us were able to touch it no problem."

"Because we aren't witches," Jonas said, and Adam nodded.

"The inscriptions on the dagger are still unfamiliar, but"—he pressed a button, and another slide appeared with other symbols and letters that also looked unfamiliar—"I think they started their own language. These letters and symbols are from three different dead scrolls, the eldest dating back to 400 B.C."

He clicked the button and another slide appeared, this time with a magnified close up of a symbol. "This is one of the symbols found on the alter, and I believe they have combined the previous scrolls symbols to make their own letters. That's why the chanting was unfamiliar to you three. It's from an entirely made up language."

"Someone obviously had way too much time on their hands," Callum joked.

"So what does this mean?" Cynthia asked. "And how are they getting power from it?"

Adam clicked another slide, and rough drawings of human sacrifice and rituals came on the screen. In one of the pictures, there were people wearing robes, their faces completely covered.

He continued, "I believe they already had a source of magic. Maybe they defected from their own Coven. I believe they are fairly new too. They can't be more than two centuries old."

"Defecting from a Coven is considered a no-no," Sage said. "I find it hard to believe they were successful. Surely whatever Coven they belonged to would have stopped them."

Nora nodded her head. "I agree with Sage. Covens are powerful as a group. They would never allow an anomaly to live."

"Could they have been overpowered?" Barron suggested. "I mean it happens in Packs with the Alpha males all the time."

The three outcast Coven members exchanged looks. It wasn't impossible for it to happen, but if these Veiled Coven members belonged to the Gemini Coven, it seemed unlikely. But then again, the Gemini Coven was made up of factions, if a faction powerful enough defected, the Gemini Coven might have not been able to stop them.

Adam ended the Power Point, turning the lights back on. This was one of the most interesting cases he had ever come across, and the more information he gathered, the more illusive this group seemed to be.

* * *

 _ **LONDON, 1879**_

IT was late, and most of the Heretics had retired to their quarters after a night of drink and dance. Mary Louise, who still had excitement from the night couldn't sleep, so while everyone slept, she snuck out of the home and made her way to the nearest park, with only a blanket in hand.

The park was a few blocks away from their home, but it took her no time to get there using her vampire speed. Morning would be in a couple of hours, so she wanted to take the time to look at the stars, that seemed to glow bright in the night sky.

As she laid the blanket down and took a seat, drawing her legs to her chest, she felt as though she could count every star in the sky. On this night in particular, the stars seemed to be grouped more together.

"I believe that is called the Big Dipper," A familiar voice said from behind, causing Mary Louise to turn around to see Nora.

Mary Louise watched as the brunette made her way over to her, taking a seat beside her on the blanket.

Nora pointed to another group of stars. "And that's the Little Dipper." She squinted. "And, look, Orion!"

Mary Louise smiled at Nora's excitement. She found her adorable. "I did not mean to wake you."

Out of all the Heretics, Mary Louise had grown the most fond of Nora. The girl captivated her, and she was most happy when they did things together.

"I was not sleeping," Nora simply answered. "I saw you leave and I wanted to spend some time with you."

"You did?" Mary Louise tried to hide the shock in her voice and failed. Nora noticed, which caused her to laugh.

"Of course," Nora giggled. "I enjoy spending time with you, Mary Lou."

Mary Louise felt herself blush, so she quickly turned her head away and focused back on the stars. As Mary Louise focused on the stars, Nora focused on Mary Louise.

"You like looking at them…the stars I mean," Nora said.

Mary Louise nodded her head, and after a moment answered, "They're comforting."

"You know, Mary Lou, you are a very hard person to get a read on."

Mary Louise looked back at Nora. "Mary Lou?"

Nora wasn't sure if she had offended Mary Louise or not. "Short for Mary Louise. I'm sorry, maybe I should not have"—

"No. I like it. It's endearing." Mary Louise stretched out her legs on the blanket.

Nora smiled in relief. Out of all the members of the Heretics, she favored Mary Louise the most. Even Lily had commented on how close the two girls had become since she joined, ' _like real sisters,'_ she would say.

The two of them laid out on the blanket, not really speaking, just enjoying each other's presence. Everything was nice, peaceful even, until Nora absent mindedly touched Mary Louise's hand.

Mary Louise's eyes quickly darted down to her hand, as if something electric had happened. A wave of mixed emotions suddenly overcame her, and she quickly stood up.

Nora looked at Mary Louise, confused. "Is everything all right?"

Mary Louise nodded. "I just…I just have to go. It's late."

Nora could tell Mary Louise was upset, but she did not know what caused it.

"I'll see you at home," Mary Louise said, and as soon as Nora blinked she was gone.

"Mary Lou!" Nora shouted into the air as she quickly grabbed the blanket and rushed home. When she finally got home, the first thing she did was head over to Mary Louise's sleeping quarters and open the door, only to find out she wasn't there.

Valerie, who was woken by the door opening, stepped out into the hall, noticing Nora looking into Mary Louise's bedroom.

"What are you doing?" Valerie asked, startling Nora.

"Nothing," Nora said as she quietly shut the door.

Valerie seemed skeptical, but she was too tired to talk about that now.

As Valerie made her way back into her room, Nora made her way into hers, shutting the door. She sat on the edge of her bed, blanket still in hand, wondering what made Mary Louise panic.

* * *

"WE are assuming you know why you are here," A female Elder voice said, as a Veiled Coven member stood in the center of the sacred room.

The Veiled member did not speak, only nodded in understanding.

"Good," Came a male Elder voice. "As you may be aware, one of our most sacred rituals was abruptly stopped two days ago. The result ended in a massacre of twenty-one of our members."

"We believe"—an image appeared out of nowhere, the same image of Barron, Jonas, Sage, Nora, and a deathly ill, Mary Louise, that was extracted from Cyrus's mind—"these people to be responsible."

"We also believe the blonde woman to still be alive," The female Elder spoke again. "If she is, your job is to gain her trust, her friendship, her loyalty, and then when the time is right, when she is the most vulnerable, you will kill everyone and anyone she cares about in front of her. After that, you will bring her to us."

The male elder continued, "And if she is not alive, and already succumbed to her illness, you can just kill these nuisances once and for all. We have no purpose for them."

The Veiled member nodded again in understanding.

"We have to be tactical about this," The female Elder continued. "They have got the upper hand twice now, and that is completely unacceptable. We will set everything up in motion. You, just have to play the part."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Thank you for your kind reviews. You all are way too sweet. As always, I hope I am writing something worth reading, so any comments/tips/suggestions/likes are always appreciated.

* * *

 **CHAPTER NINE**

 _ **LONDON, 1879**_

NORA stayed up all night waiting for Mary Louise to come home after she bolted unexpectedly from their late night excursion of stargazing. As she took out her pocket watch and looked at the time, worry began to set in. It was already six in the morning, and Mary Louise still had not returned home.

As she sat at the dinner table, her mind began to wander, thinking about what she would tell Lily and the others if Mary Louise never returned. They would be devastated surely. There was no one quite like Mary Louise.

"You're up early," Came Valerie's voice as she descended the stairs and entered the kitchen.

Nora fidgeted with her hands, something she did when she was nervous. "Couldn't sleep."

Valerie looked at Nora curiously as she took a seat across from her. "Could it have something to do with why you were looking in Mary Louise's empty room last night?"

Nora shot Valerie a look. She wanted to vehemently deny it, but her body language showed otherwise, and she knew Valerie would see right through it.

"Mary Louise hasn't come home since last night," Nora finally said.

Valerie wasn't shocked. "That happens."

"What happens?" Nora asked.

"People leave. Before I joined Lily, there were a lot of Vampires that left. I think Malcolm and I were the first to stay."

Nora hadn't known this.

"I wouldn't take it too hard. Besides, people are replaceable. That's a lesson you should learn."

Nora felt a lump in her throat. Mary Louise was special, and kind, and loyal, and beautiful and smart. There was no way someone could just walk in and just replace her, without so much as a second thought. There would be a void at the place where Mary Louise should have been, and Nora would never be able to get over it.

"She's not replaceable," Nora finally said, and Valerie only gave her a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry. I know you two bonded and became fast friends. But in the end people leave, and we move on." Valerie got up from her seat. "If Lily asks, tell her I went out for a morning stroll."

Nora watched as Valerie exited the home. She was back to being alone in the quiet, with only her mind toying with the idea that she might never see Mary Louise again.

Nora put her head down on the table, using her arms as a makeshift pillow. She was tired and worried, and the others would be awake shortly. She burrowed her face in her arms, and closed her eyes.

A short time had passed, and maybe Nora had dozed off for a moment or two, but the sound of the front door opening had woken her.

Without looking up, Nora said, "Back from your stroll already, Val?"

There was a long moment of silence, and then, "I'm not Val."

Nora quickly sat up to see Mary Louise standing in front of the door. She had come home.

"I thought you'd still be sleeping," Mary Louise said nervously as she made her way into the kitchen.

"I couldn't sleep last night," Nora commented. "What happened back at the park? You said you were going home and never did."

Mary Louise shrugged, tears filling her eyes, and she quickly turned away from Nora so she wouldn't see. "I don't know."

Nora looked at the back of Mary Louise's head. She didn't believe Mary Louise did not know what made her run. But for today, for right now, she would let it go. Mary Louise had come back, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

MARY LOUISE found Nora out in the courtyard with Callum, Jonas, Sage, and Barron, jumping on a large contraption she hadn't seen before.

Nora seemed to be enjoying herself as she jumped up and down, and her smile grew once she saw Mary Louise.

"Mare! You have to try this!" She said while bouncing up and down.

"What on earth is it?" Mary Louise asked.

"It's a trampoline," Barron answered.

"Take off your shoes, and we'll stop bouncing so you can get on." Nora extended her hand, and Mary Louise contemplated whether or not she should go on. Eventually Nora's smile won her over.

After taking off her shoes, she grabbed Nora's hand and climbed up on the trampoline. Barron started to jump, and the others followed suit. Mary Louise was now holding both of Nora's hands as they jumped together. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was actually enjoying herself.

Cynthia, who had just come from gathering the mail at the front of the house, walked to the back courtyard. She stopped when she saw the six of them laughing and jumping on the trampoline, and for a moment she thought of her four children that were taken too soon. She and Adam always wanted to have a big family, and they certainly had the money for it. If they were still alive, they would have been about their ages. The pain of losing her children would never go away, and it still lingered in every crevice of her home, but these six people that had come into her and Adam's lives had saved them as well.

"It looks like you guys are having fun," Cynthia commented with a laugh.

"This contraption is incredible," Mary Louise said. "This would have been such a joy back in the late 1800s."

"You should see bouncing castles," Callum commented.

Sage noticed Cynthia going through the mail. "Anything interesting?"

"Aside from bills, spam and"—she cut herself off, her brow furrowing.

"What is it?" Jonas asked as he stopped jumping.

Cynthia put the rest of the mail underneath her arm, and looked at the black envelope that was closed with a red seal. "I'm not entirely sure."

The six of them watched as Cynthia opened the envelope, pulling out a tan colored card.

"Hm." She said. "It's an invitation to a ball."

"Who sent it?" Nora asked. She hadn't been to a ball since the early 1900s, and if she was remembering correctly, she was only there to dine on the guests.

"It doesn't say," Cynthia finally answered. "But we're all invited."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your reviews they mean so much to me. I would also like to send a shout out to **Bambibelle84** for designing such an incredible cover art for this story. I was going to wait until I posted the Chapter to change the picture, but I had to do it before – it's just that good. Hopefully my writing will match how awesome the cover art now is. Thank you again.

* * *

 **CHAPTER TEN**

ADAM inspected the invitation, noticing the fine details of silver-engraved writing against the tan coloured backdrop. Someone had took a lot of care to align the words just right to make the words form a gown, and to also pick the perfect font that mixed modern with old times. Even the red seal seemed awfully formal for a Host that wasn't named, and for an event scheduled to take place tonight.

"So, can we go?" Sage asked excitedly. They were all huddled in the kitchen of the Sanctuary, waiting breathlessly for Adam's approval.

"This isn't much notice," Adam started to say.

Cynthia, who had been quietly contemplating the invitation to the Ball since she had opened it, knew her husband was not too keen on making certain haste decisions. The last time they had gone out to a Ball was before their fourth child was conceived, and the idea of going out again allured her. She couldn't even remember the last time she had a slow dance with Adam.

"Also," Adam continued, "it's not like we can find appropriate gowns and suits in such a short time."

Cynthia chuckled. "I'm sure we can manage something. It doesn't start until eight tonight"—she looked down at the gold watch she wore on her left wrist—"and it's only two now."

A delighted smile came across Nora's face. "I once designed an entire Angel outfit from scrap with rubbish clothes found at Whitmore College, and spruced it up thanks to Pinterest. I'm sure us girls can manage."

"See?" Cynthia said. "I can take the girls out and we can do some shopping. And as for you boys, I'm sure it won't be that hard to get a tailored suit for this evening."

"It sounds like you want to go," Adam said, looking directly at Cynthia.

Cynthia gave Adam a small smile. "When is the last time we went out?"

Adam knew it had been awhile, but there was still things that bothered him. "Even if I did agree to go we know nothing about this Ball. Doesn't the timing seem a bit…odd?"

The room went quiet, and Callum let out a disappointed sigh.

"Wouldn't that be all the more reason to go?" Barron asked. "To make sure this isn't a threat?"

"Like a recon mission, but with dance and food, and alcohol," Jonas added.

Adam looked at everyone in the room. He could see in their faces, even at the chance that they could all be walking into a trap that they still all wanted to go out for the evening.

"Fine. We can go." He sighed in defeat, hoping he made the right decision.

The women erupted with an excited scream. Adam watched as Nora and Mary Louise whispered something to each other, and his heart sank.

"There's just one other problem," Adam said, his eyes looking directly at Nora and Mary Louise. "The theme of this Ball is 'Modern Victoria Era.'"

The excitement in Mary Louise and Nora's expression changed.

"Great," Mary Louise huffed. "A party sponsored by homophobia."

Adam nodded his head. "I'd understand if you two don't want to go."

Nora exchanged a look with Mary Louise. Normally, they would have chosen to forgo the night, but if, at the odd chance, it were a trap, losing two Heretics wouldn't be wise.

"It's fine," Nora said. "This wouldn't be the first time we were prohibited from showing physical affection toward each other."

"Then we'll decide on pairings later," Adam said. "Right now, we should make sure we are ready to attend this damn thing."

* * *

 _ **LONDON, 1877**_

MARY LOUISE made her way toward the slaughterhouse her family had owned. She was the youngest of four, having three older brothers that would one day run the slaughterhouse, and continue the family business. It was very rare for her to be beckoned to the slaughterhouse, her father used to say it was no place for a lady, but if her father wanted her there, it was best not to ask questions or keep him waiting.

She pushed the door to the slaughterhouse open and made her way inside. The smell of the dead animal carcasses and old blood assaulted her nose, and she tried her best to quell the uneasiness in her stomach. She wondered how her father and brothers could spend all day in here without wanting to be sick.

"Father," Mary Louise called out to what seemed to be an empty place. "Father, I'm here as you requested."

Her eyes began to wander toward the various tools used to slaughter and clean the animals, so they could be sold in the market during the day. Their business had become a household name, and it was known for having the best cuts of meat.

Mary Louise stood for a little while longer, calling her father one more time. She was about to turn to leave, when she saw a glimpse of her father standing behind her, holding a shovel in his hand. Her mouth opened to say something, but in flash, she saw the shovel swing toward her, and the last thing she saw was a hanging animal corpse as she hit the ground, before everything went black.

When she regained consciousness, after some time, she found herself upside down, hanging by her feet. She thrashed against the chains, confused as to what was going on. Her vision was still blurry, and it was difficult to see upside down, but she could make out the members of her family.

"Mother," Mary Louise called out with an anguished cry, as tears rolled down her cheek. "Help me. Please." She could feel her blood rushing to her head.

Her Mother, all of 5'3, with wispy blonde hair and the same blue eyes, made no movement.

Her father's muscular 6'5 frame came into her view. Her brothers took after him, all being around 6 feet tall. They also had his dark eye colour and ashy brown hair, and the only thing the four siblings had in common was that they all inherited their father's sharp jawline.

Her father tilted his head sideways, looking at Mary Louise with disgust. "You're an abomination. To this family. To this Coven."

"I don't understand," Mary Louise cried.

"You're a Siphon freak of nature," Her eldest brother, Ephraim spat.

"We saw you Siphon power from an Amulet," Noah, the last son to be born, said.

"No," Mary Louise said. "No, that's not true."

"But it is!" The second son, named Samuel, yelled. "And we will not tolerate this! You do not have any magic of your own!"

Her father put his left arm up, silencing the boys. "I should have known something was off with you. My only daughter, and you turn out to be a Siphon!" He was holding something in his right hand, something she couldn't make out, until he flicked his wrist, and lashed her body with a whip.

"Luther!" Margaret said, as Mary Louise screamed out in agony.

Luther turned to face his wife, as if this was the only way to deal with a Siphoner. As if this had to be done.

Luther turned his attention to his eldest son, handing the whip to him. Ephraim smiled wickedly as he took it, gripping it tightly in his hands.

"No!" Mary Louise begged, but the crack of the whip drowned out her cry, and a wave of pain overtook her body as the whip made contact with her skin.

"Siphon freak," Ephraim said as he handed the whip to Samuel, who when finished, passed it on to Noah. By the time Noah had hit her with the whip, her skin had cracked, and she could feel the blood dripping down her body.

Luther looked pleased at his sons as he took the whip from his youngest. He looked at his wife, who seemed conflicted over this. We walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"If the Gemini Coven found out we had a Siphoner, we would be out casted. This is for the best." Luther grabbed Margaret's hand and placed the whip into it, gently closing her palm. "Our daughter is a freak. Only God knows what else is wrong with her."

Once Luther stepped aside, Margaret slowly made her way over to her only daughter.

Mary Louise was queasy, and in pain, and tired from the ordeal. Her eyes could no longer focus on her Mother. "Please…" She said in a bare whisper.

Mary Louise watched as her mother extended the whip, and the moment the whip contacted her skin, she lost consciousness again.

* * *

WHITE marble greeted the eight of them as they entered the massive Gala, which was decorated with gold streams that covered the ceiling from start to finish. There were at least a hundred other people in there, not including the wait staff, which held trays with appetizers and champagne flutes as they walked through the crowd.

Adam seemed to notice that these people seemed to be just as skeptical as he was, but they all showed regardless. _Maybe Jonas was right,_ He thought. _Maybe the promise of free food and drink were enough to gather all these people here._

Cynthia entwined her arm in Adam's. "Do you still think this is a trap?" Cynthia was wearing a nice, off white dress, and Adam had to admit she looked absolutely stunning. Maybe a part of him had missed their frequent outings when they were younger.

He loosened his shoulders. For tonight he wouldn't be so pessimistic.

"You boys clean up well," Cynthia commented, which caused Adam to laugh. They all had picked standard black and white tux, with black ties. The only one who was different was Callum, who choose a bow tie instead. Somehow, it was so him.

The women, on the other hand, and really out done themselves. Sage, for instance was wearing a Burgundy color lace dress that hit just below her knees. Nora was wearing a dark, strapless, purple dress that fell just above her knees. Mary Louise wore a light grey, strapless, dress that fell just above her ankles. Cynthia had lent them jewelry and they all had curled each other's hair.

"Just try and enjoy the night," Cynthia laughed as they pushed their way further inside, passing Barron and Nora.

Nora gave Cynthia a thumb's up, noticing Adam had relaxed a little, and she returned it, before they disappeared into the crowd. Nora glanced up at Barron, who seemed to be a million miles away, and she could tell he was looking at Jonas and Sage, who were not too far ahead of them, laughing away.

"Does Sage know you like her?" Nora asked, which caused Barron to refocus his attention.

"What?" He said in confusion, which caused Nora to roll her eyes.

"Oh please, it's so obvious."

Barron suddenly became defensive. "It's just not fair. Every time there is a mission, it's Sage and Jonas. Always. You wouldn't understand."

"You're right," Nora said somewhat sarcastically. "I mean, how could I possibly understand having my arm wrapped around someone else's when I want to wrap it around the person I am in love with?"

Barron sighed apologetically. "I'm an ass."

Nora smirked. "First step is admitting it." Nora turned her head to spotting Mary Louise and Callum near the back. Mary Louise looked lost, as she did with most parties, and Callum was too excited to even know what to do.

"Do you think it was a good idea to pair Callum and Mare together?" Nora asked, which caused Barron to laugh.

"Probably not, but I'm sure they'll have a good time."

* * *

"SO…this is…nice…" Callum said, trying to break the tension.

"Is this your first ever Ball?" Mary Louise smirked.

"I wasn't too popular…ever, so going to fancy dances was something I was generally excluded from."

"You aren't missing much," Mary Louise said. "Balls are only enjoyable if you spend it with the one you love. Otherwise, it's just…pointless."

"I guess you have a point," Callum said. "So then why did you agree to come? Aside from the off chance this might be a trap?"

Mary Louise blushed. "I was hoping I could sneak a dance with Nora."

"I'd sneak a dance with you anytime!" A random male said as he approached Mary Louise and Callum. His breath reeked of free champagne.

"I beg your pardon!" Mary Louise said with anger in her voice, and Callum, thinking fast, grabbed two flutes of Champagne from a nearby waitress and quickly handed one of them to Mary Louise.

"Sorry, but this woman is extremely taken. Have fun killing your liver!" Callum said as he moved Mary Louise along in case she decided to go all _Carrie_ on the guests.

Mary Louise seemed to have calmed down once they had moved away from him. She took a sip from her champagne, and made a face. She had better.

Suddenly, and without warning, a trumpet began to play, causing everyone to stop talking. In the middle of the Gala was a large, white marble staircase. It seemed an odd place to have it, but it drew everyone's attention.

An older man suddenly appeared. He was dressed in a classic Victorian outfit, and once the trumpet stopped playing, he unraveled a scroll he held in his hand.

"On behalf of the Hosts for tonight's Ball, I would like to extend my most sincere gratitude and thanks for all of you showing up and attending this event on such short notice.  
"Without further ado, please welcome your hosts for this evening of food, wine, and dance."

A younger man suddenly appeared at the staircase. He was handsome, and about 6'feet tall. He had blue eyes and brown hair, and he was dressed like a Prince from a fairy tale. He waved at everyone below before he took a couple of steps down, turning his attention back up.

Within a moment, a beautiful woman with fair skin appeared, wearing a dark green dress that contrasted her green eyes, who wore a sparkling crown that was fastened on jet black hair that was half done up in loose curls. People gasped at her beauty, and some had begun to whisper that she reminded them of Snow White.

Mary Louise caught a glimpse of the girl and in shock, she dropped her champagne flute to the ground, drawing unwanted attention by the people near by.

Callum could see that something was not right. "Are you okay?"

"No," Mary Louise finally spoke, but she wasn't answering Callum's question. "This isn't possible."

"What's not possible?" Callum asked as he turned back to the black haired woman. He couldn't make the connection.

Nora, who had heard the champagne glass drop with her vampire super hearing, saw Mary Louise's conflicted look. With her super hearing she heard Mary Louise say, in a bare whisper, the name Victoria.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Thank you again for the reviews. I was worried about adding original characters, but I couldn't see a story without them supporting Nora and Mary Louise. Also, I wanted to apologize for grammatical errors/subpar writing. I try my best to proof read, but some things get messed. I will keep an eye out going forward. Thank you for your support.

* * *

 **CHAPTER ELEVEN**

 _ **LONDON, 1876**_

MARY LOUISE laughed as she chased Victoria down the grassy hill, leading toward the ravine.

"Give it back!" Mary Louise shouted through her laughter as she was gaining distance on her friend. Victoria had taken her handmade brooch that had the letters 'ML' in the middle, surrounded by tiny flowers that had small jewels in them, which were coloured blue, purple, and green, and had put it in her satchel before running off.

Victoria turned her head, and in between laughs she said, "You'll never catch me!"

Mary Louise watched as Victoria made a hard right, and ran toward the heavily wooded area. She smirked, and kept running straight. She knew this area like the back of her hand. There was only one exit Victoria would be able to take to get to the ravine, and she would get there faster staying on the course she was already on.

As anticipated, she had beat Victoria to the ravine, and caught her friend off guard when she grabbed Victoria's wrist and unintentionally pulled her so close that their faces were almost touching. For a moment it was like time had slowed, and she found her eyes lowering to Victoria's lips, tracing their outline, and wondering how they would feel against hers.

"How did you beat me here?" Victoria asked, snapping Mary Louise out of her daydream. The only thing Mary Louise could do was swallow hard. This wasn't the first time she thought about kissing Victoria in the way husbands kissed their wives, and the older she got, the stronger those feelings became. Of course she knew it was wrong to think like that. Men belonged with women, and women belonged with men. There was no contesting that reality of life, even though every fiber of her being told her otherwise.

Victoria's eyes sparkled in the sun. "Fine, be cheeky and don't tell me."

Mary Louise, unable to move, could only watch as Victoria made her way down toward the ravine.

"Come on, silly," Victoria called out, and after a moment, Mary Louise reluctantly followed. On the other side of the ravine was an open field with the most beautiful wild daffodils. It was one of their favourite spots to be, as the sun seemed to shine the brightest there.

Hoisting up their dresses to make it easier to hop on the rocks, they made it safely across without getting wet. Victoria took off again, her hair blowing in the wind, and Mary Louise couldn't help but chase after her.

There were other people in the field enjoying the afternoon. There were families with their children, husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, and Mary Louise with Victoria.

Victoria stopped running when she found the perfect spot to sit in the sun. Reaching into the satchel she pulled out a blanket and carefully laid it down.

"What a gorgeous afternoon," Victoria commented once they were both seated. They both squinted while looking at the sun. "I don't want this day to end."

Victoria shifted her position so she was on her side, lowering herself so that her head was resting on Mary Louise's lap. Mary Louise gently ran her fingers through Victoria's hair. She didn't want this day to end either.

* * *

"I have to get out of here," Mary Louise suddenly said, quickly averting her eyes away from Victoria, who spotted her in the crowd.

"Are you going to tell me what on earth is going on?" Callum asked as he tried to keep up with Mary Louise, pushing his way through the crowd of people. "Does it have something to do with that woman?"

Mary Louise abruptly stopped in her tracks, turning to face Callum. She had a look of concern on her face, and something else that Callum couldn't quite pinpoint.

There was urgency in her voice as she said, "She's someone from my past."

Callum searched Mary Louise's eyes for answers. "A Vampire?"

Mary Louise wasn't entirely sure. If Victoria had been turned, she would have lost her magic—a fate to her that would have been worse than immortality.

"I knew her from childhood," She finally said. "We were in the same Coven."

Callum tried to do the math in his head. Witches were not known for typically being immortal, so unless she was a Vampire there was only one other explanation he could think of. "Doppelgänger?"

Mary Louise would have wanted nothing more than for that to be true. But when they had made eye contact, there was no denying that they both recognized each other. She also had that same damn sparkle in her eye—the one that seemed to appear whenever they were together talking about everything and nothing all at once.

Callum could see that Mary Louise appeared distressed, and as he tried to find the right words to reassure her that everything would be okay, he blinked and then she was gone.

Callum frantically looked around for her, and cursed the use of vampire super speed under his breath.

"Where's Mare?" Came Nora's concerned voice. Barron was right behind her.

"I don't know," Callum began to say. "She was upset. One minute she was here and the next…poof."

"Do you know what caused her to become upset?" Barron asked.

Callum nodded his head. "Yeah. She freaked out after seeing the Host. Said she knew her from childhood. She's"—he looked over toward the stairs where the fairytale couple had descended. He frowned. "Well, she _was_ right there."

Nora felt a lump rise in her throat. "I'll look for Mare. You two inform the others."

Barron and Callum went their separate ways, looking for Adam, Cynthia, Jonas and Sage. Nora knew Mary Louise's first response to any uncomfortable situation was to flee, and she only hoped she hadn't gone too far.

* * *

MARY LOUISE took in the fresh air as she ran out in the middle of the deserted courtyard of this extravagant mansion. She had to get out of that room. There were too many people, and she felt like the walls were closing in, squeezing the air out of her lungs.

She also had a lot of questions and mixed feelings. The last time she had seen Victoria was over 139 years ago. She wasn't even sure how it was possible for her to be alive after all this time.

For a moment, Mary Louise closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure. Adam had been right all along. Coming to this party was a mistake.

"Mary Louise?" An oddly familiar voice called from behind, causing Mary Louise's eyes to fly open. "Is that you?"

Hesitantly, Mary Louise slowly turned around to see Victoria. The woman looked just as confused as she was.

They stood in silence across from each other, not being able to move.

Tears welled up in Victoria's eyes as a large smile appeared across her face. She ran towards Mary Louise, tightly embracing her in a one-sided hug that felt centuries over due.

Victoria parted from the hug. "I…I thought I'd never see you again."

Mary Louise, who was still in shock and unable to move, asked, "How is this possible?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Victoria began to say. "A lot happened when, well, when you were gone. Our Coven was in danger, and they found a way to 'preserve' a few. We aren't technically immortal, and for every 100 years, we physically age a year. The spell was cast late in 1878."

Mary Louise could only nod as she took the information in. In 1878, she had been living on the streets for most of the year, until Lily turned her into a vampire.

"What about you? Where have you been? How are you even still alive?"

"It's a long story," Mary Louise began to say, "and one I don't feel like repeating."

Victoria put a comforting hand on Mary Louise's face, bringing back memories of her youth.

Mary Louise closed her eyes. Everything about Victoria was the same, from her voice, to the way she smelled. "I was turned," She finally admitted. "Into a vampire."

Victoria gasped, and tears fell from her face. "No."

Mary Louise looked at Victoria. "They found me on the streets."

Tears rolled down Victoria's cheeks, her make up getting ruined. "That doesn't matter," She said as she wrapped her arms around her dearest friend, bringing her into another hug. "What matters is that we are back in each other's lives and we can deal with you being a vampire. I missed you, Mary Louise."

* * *

FROM the distance, Nora watched as Mary Louise returned the hug from Victoria. There were so many things about Mary Louise's past that she didn't know. Mary Louise had always been quiet about her past, and for the most part Nora never brought it up because she could tell it upset her. But now Mary Louise's past had come into the present, and there was an uneasiness that began to form at the pit of her stomach. She too had many questions that needed answers.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

THE eight of them arrived home just a little after three in the morning, exhausted from a night spent dancing. Callum had been worried that they would have to leave early, considering the history Mary Louise had with one of the hosts, but Mary Louise assured everyone there was no reason to leave, that they should enjoy themselves, even though she spent most of the time huddled away.

Nora had spent most of the Ball sitting with Mary Louise in silence. Anytime she opened her mouth to say something, no words would come out, and the only time Mary Louise seemed to actively engage in her surroundings was when she suggested to Nora that they should at least have once dance with their dates, who were also sitting on the sidelines.

Now it was just the two of them, in the bedroom they shared, and the silence that was present at the Ball, had managed to find its way into Nora's favourite room.

Mary Louise was by the dresser, slowly removing her jewelry as Nora watched. Even when she looked troubled, she was still the most beautiful girl in the world to Nora.

Nora cleared her throat. "So, what did you think of tonight?"

Nora could see a small smile appear on Mary Louise's face through her reflection in the mirror.

"It was nice. Cynthia seemed to have a good time. Everyone seemed to have a good time, actually."

Nora looked at Mary Louise through the mirror. "Including you?"

Mary Louise's tensed, her shoulder blades becoming visible. She pressed her hands on top of the dresser, her blonde hair falling in front of her face.

"Can we not talk about this," Mary Louise said quietly.

Nora frowned, not happy with the response. "A woman you've known from your past has shown up suddenly and you don't want to talk about it?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying," Mary Louise answered, her voice surprisingly calm.

Nora crossed her arms. "I feel like we should talk about this."

"Nora, please."

"I've been an open book with you, Mare. You know about my past. Out of my whole life story I have told you, I maybe get like five tidbits into your past, which is like breadcrumbs."

"I don't like talking about my past," Mary Louise responded, anger rising in her voice. "And why is it so important that right this minute you need to know what it was like for me growing up in late 1800s London being a Siphoner and Gay—you know what it was like: horrible."

A slight crack suddenly appeared on the mirror, the result of Mary Louise's anger. Nora sighed, mostly out of frustration. It was late, and she didn't want to get into an argument while the others slept.

The two of them continued to get ready for bed in silence, and when they were done they had each made their way to their own side of the bed and got in before turning off the lights. Their backs were facing each other.

Nora hated the tension. For almost 133 years, when they could, they would always kiss each other goodnight. The only time it didn't happen was when they desiccated, when they briefly broke up, and when the Armory had separated them for three years.

Nora shivered at the thought of their break up back in Mystic Falls. Even though she initiated it after what Mary Louise had done, that was the hardest thing she ever did. They had both said things they didn't mean out of hurt, and she was miserable without Mary Louise. She was the other half of her heart, her soul mate, and she loved her more than words could ever describe. But this woman, Victoria, made Mary Louise defensive, and Mary Louise only ever got defensive over people she cared deeply about.

Nora suddenly felt Mary Louise wrap her arms around her, pulling her close. She felt a small kiss on her cheek, and a wave of warmth washed over her.

"I love you, Mary Lou."

"I love you too."

* * *

 _ **LONDON, 1879**_

OVER the past few months, the Heretics had moved to different spots throughout London, not really settling into any specific place for too long.

Their newest living arrangements had been an upgrade from the smaller, dingy homes they had lived in. It was a fair sized Tavern, with sleeping quarters upstairs, and Lily had compelled the owner to kindly sell it to them for less than it was worth.

Most of their evenings were spent in the bar area after a night of feeding. On this night in particular, Beau, Oliver, and Malcolm had decided that they needed a men's night out and had abandoned Nora, Mary Louise, and Valerie.

Mary Louise didn't mind spending the evening in. It allowed her to spend more time with Nora, and any moment she spent with Nora was treasured.

"Ladies!" Came Julian's boastful voice as he entered the bar. He had a male friend with him, one they didn't know.

The three women looked at Julian and his friend curiously. The man that was next to Julian wasn't bleeding from his neck, so he wasn't food.

Julian patted his friend on the back. "This is my good friend, Richard. We go way back. Richard, this is Mary Louise, Nora, and Valerie."

Richard was nothing remarkable. He was 5'8, with dark hair and eyes. Most women probably wouldn't have looked twice at him, and Mary Louise had already regretted looking once.

"The adventures we had," Richard continued, his words slurred. He had obviously been drinking.

Julian chuckled at a memory the three women weren't privy to. "Anyway, as you know I have a date with Lily. And I was telling my friend that I know three beautiful women, all without a companion."

Valerie abruptly stood up from her chair. She had a disgusted look on her face. "I'm going for a walk."

Julian and Richard both watched as Valerie left, before they turned their attention back to the two girls remaining.

"Doesn't matter," Julian said, referring to Valerie leaving. "These girls have a lot to offer. Why don't you get acquainted with them? Who knows, maybe one of them will be the love of your life. Like what I have with Lily, who, is going to have my head if I am late again."

Richard waited until Julian was gone before he grabbed a chair and put it in the middle of Nora and Mary Louise. His attention immediately went on Nora, who was bright red from blushing.

Mary Louise got up from her seat, exited the bar area and headed toward the staircase that lead to the sleeping quarters. She made it up a couple of stairs before she turned around and sat herself down, resting her face on her hand. She hated the idea that Nora was in there chatting with someone who wasn't her.

Some time had passed, and Mary Louise was brought out of her own thoughts by the sound of Nora crying as she ran toward the stairs.

"Nora," Mary Louise said once she saw her friend, who looked distraught. Nora ran up the stairs, passed Mary Louise. "Nora!"

Mary Louise quickly followed Nora up the stairs, but Nora had already slammed the door to her personal quarters. She could still hear her cry.

"Nora, what's wrong? What happened?"

"I hate him," Nora said between sobs.

Mary Louise put her hand on the door, but never opened it, and in a gentle voice she said, "Please. Tell me what happened."

"It doesn't matter," Nora said, and then more quietly she repeated, "It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters," Mary Louise assured. "Please tell me what happened? Why are you so upset?"

There was a long pause.

"He…He…tried to kiss me. When I refused he…grabbed me and he…he put his hand up my dress," Nora said. "I was able to push him off…but…but he is Julian's friend. He is staying here. Tonight."

As Nora broke down again, anger flashed in Mary Louise's eyes and a viciousness over came her. She quickly made her way down the stairs and into the bar where Richard was helping himself to more drinks.

"Don't you think you've had enough?" Mary Louise casually asked, causing Richard to look over at her.

Richard raised the bottle. "Come and join me."

Mary Louise walked closer to him. "I would, but I have errands to do for the night." She headed toward the entrance.

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Anything I can help you with?"

Mary Louise paused, turning to face him. "I suppose." She grabbed a lantern, lighting it before heading out.

Richard quickly followed her as she led him into the alley. There was a crate, and not much of anything else. "What exactly do you have to do out here?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Mary Louise said. "Usually Nora takes care of these things."

Richard laughed. "Nora's kind of a prude isn't she. I was just trying to have a good time, and she got hysterical on me. I should have focused my attention on you instead."

"Now I remember," Mary Louise said, and within half a second her hand was in Richard's chest. "You will never hurt or insult Nora again."

She ripped out his heart, his dead body falling to the ground. At this point she didn't care that this man was Julian's friend. He had hurt her friend, and she would not stand for it.

" _Incendia,"_ Mary Louise chanted, lighting his corpse on fire. She threw his heart on top as he quickly burned into ash.

After wiping the blood from her hands, Mary Louise headed back inside, making her way to Nora's room. The crying had stopped. She knocked on the door.

"Nora. Can I come in?"

"Yes."

Mary Louise quietly opened the door to find Nora on her bed. It was heartbreaking to see her so sad.

"I'm sorry for crying," Nora said, half laughing. "I must look like a mess."

"You look fine," Mary Louise said, as she made her way inside. She sat next to Nora on her bed.

"Is he still downstairs?" Nora asked. "I don't think I will be able to sleep if he is still here."

"You don't have to worry about him," Mary Louise assured. "He's not here anymore."

Nora raised an eyebrow. "He left willingly?"

"Not exactly…"

"What do you mean by 'not exactly'."

"I may have given him a little push…through his chest…and pulled out his heart."

Nora shot up from her bed. "Mare! Why would you do that?"

"He hurt you! He had to pay!" Mary Louise said defensively as she also got up from the bed.

Nora blinked. "You killed him…for me?"

"I wouldn't let him hurt you again. He upset you and what he did was not right, Julian's friend or not."

Nora walked over to Mary Louise and wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace. "That's the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me."

Mary Louise fell into the hug and returned it. "I'd do anything for you."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Thank you for your reviews. As always, I hope I am writing something worth reading.

* * *

 **CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

MORNING had come too quickly, and almost everyone had seemed to be in a hangover induced state as they dragged themselves from their beds and into the kitchen hoping to find something greasy enough to ease the aftermath of last night.

Nora appeared at the top of the stairs that lead to the foyer. Someone had been knocking, rather insistently, on their door for the past five minutes, and out of the seven other people in the home, no one bothered to answer it.

Not that Nora could blame them. It was rather early for someone to be visiting at—she glanced at the clock—eleven in the morning. Still, they had a late night, and if her body didn't heal fast thanks to her vampirism, she too would have ignored it.

Nora made her way down the stairs and swung the door open to see Victoria standing on the other side. She blinked. This was the last person she wanted to see.

"Hi!" Victoria said cheerfully.

"Not interested," Nora said as she began to shut the door in Victoria's face, but Victoria had put her hand on the door and pushed it back open, surprising Nora with her strength.

Still, with a smile, Victoria said, "I think you are mistaken. I'm here to see Mary Louise."

Nora knew why Victoria was here. She just couldn't believe Mary Louise told her where they lived.

"I remember seeing you at the party, you were wearing a dark purple dress. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

Nora smiled politely as Victoria extended a hand.

"I don't think we were properly introduced. My name is"—

"Victoria," Came Mary Louise's voice from the top of the stairs, which caused Nora to turn around.

Victoria's smile widened as she saw her friend descend the stairs and stand next to the petite brunette. "I was just introducing myself to your roommate."

Nora's eyebrows arched in surprise. "We aren't _roommates_. We're"—

Mary Louise quickly interrupted Nora. "What are you doing here?"

Victoria frowned. "I haven't seen you in over a century, and you are asking me what I'm doing here?"

Nora exchanged a look between Mary Louise and Victoria. They both seemed to hold eye contact until Mary Louise softened.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to sound like that."

"It's fine," Victoria said. "I wasn't expecting this to be an easy reunion. I'll give you time to process."

Mary Louise watched as Victoria reached into her purse, pulling something out.

"I wanted to give this to you," Victoria said as she grabbed Mary Louise's hand and placed what she was holding inside.

Mary Louise looked down at her hand. "My brooch…" Time had not been kind on it, and it was slightly rusted and some of the jewels had fallen off.

Victoria nodded her head. "You were so proud when you made that. When I thought you had died, I kept it as a reminder…of you."

Mary Louise was speechless. After all this time Victoria had still thought about her.

"Anyway, I better get going. I do hope we can catch up sometime soon."

"Bye," Nora said as Victoria left. She shut the door and turned to Mary Louise who seemed fixated on the brooch.

"Are you all right?" Nora asked, noticing tears well up in Mary Louise's eyes.

After a moment Mary Louise nodded, grasping the brooch tightly in her hand. "I just need a moment."

Nora opened her mouth to say something and then just as quickly shut it. Victoria was clearly bringing up a lot of emotions out of Mary Louise, and still, Mary Louise kept quiet.

* * *

 _ **LONDON, 1877**_

FROM the small window in the slaughterhouse, Mary Louise could see the stars. They had become a source of comfort after a long day of beatings from her parents and brothers. As weeks passed, they had become more creative in ways to punish her for being a Siphoner. Her body was covered in lashes and burns, and even though she was no longer hanging upside down, she was still strung up with the cattle, her feet barely touching the ground.

Dried blood stained her skin and tattered clothes. Her whole body ached, and every night she prayed it would be her last. She couldn't take the beatings anymore.

A sudden sound from outside caused Mary Louise to tense, and she feared that her family had come back. The door to the slaughterhouse opened, and all she could see was a light from a lantern. She closed her eyes, bracing for the worst.

"Mary Louise?" It was Victoria; she was holding a pale in one hand. "Mary Louise?"

Mary Louise opened her eyes. "Victoria?" Her voice was dry. She hadn't had any water since the morning.

Victoria lifted the lantern, and gasped in horror at the state of her friend. "My God…"

Victoria laid the pale down, looking around the room for a small stool. When she found one, she rushed over to it and quickly placed it under Mary Louise. It was a welcome relief.

"I've heard whispers," Victoria began to say as she dipped a cloth in the water and began to dab the wound on Mary Louise's forehead. "Some members of our Coven were saying that your family had put you in here as punishment for being a Siphoner."

Mary Louise winced in pain. "So, the whole Coven knows?"

"I don't believe a word of it. I've known you for my whole life, Mary Louise. There is no way what they are saying is the truth."

Mary Louise's lip quivered. There was no use in denying it anymore. "It's true. I'm a Siphoner."

Victoria stopped dabbing Mary Louise's wound, and she looked deep into her friend's eyes before she took a step back.

"I didn't ask to be born like this," Mary Louise said, trying to make her friend understand. "Every day I wish to the heavens that I wasn't born like this. I wish for so many things."

"So it's true?" Victoria managed to choke out. "This whole time…"

Tears streamed down Mary Louise's face as Victoria added, "I have to go." Her voice was flat, and she had the same look on her face as Mary Louise's family had on theirs. She headed toward the door.

"Please don't go," Mary Louise begged, which caused Victoria to momentarily stop. "You're all I have."

Victoria turned her head slightly. "I wish there was another way, my dear friend. But you're a Siphoner."

After Victoria had left, Mary Louise's eyes remained on the door, hoping that her friend would change her mind and come back for her, freeing her from the hell she was now living. They remained fixated on the door until she fell asleep from exhaustion.

She wasn't aware for how long she was asleep, but when a sound jostled her awake, the stars were still out. Someone was outside, and she hoped it was Victoria.

The door to the slaughterhouse opened, and a light coming from a lantern momentarily blinded Mary Louise.

"Victoria?" Mary Louise asked with hope in her voice.

"No such luck, sister," Came Ephraim's voice as walked over to Mary Louise. He noticed the stool, and kicked it out from under her, causing her dangle and wince in pain.

Mary Louise looked at her eldest brother with fear in her eyes.

"She was here, wasn't she?" Ephraim commented noticing the bucket of water that wasn't there before. "You obviously didn't conjure this up yourself, you Siphon-freak-of-nature."

Mary Louise didn't answer, which caused Ephraim to get angry, and he wrapped his hand around her throat. He watched as she struggled to breathe, her lips turning a shade of blue before he let go.

Mary Louise gasped for air as she coughed, thrashing in the chains they used to tie her up.

"Those chains don't look tight enough," Ephraim said with a wicked smile as he began to tinker with the chains near Mary Louise's hands. She flinched every time he pulled it tighter.

Mary Louise kept struggling until he was forced to put his hand on hers.

"Father will be impressed, don't you think?" Ephraim said as he kept pulling the chain. One of his hands was still on Mary Louise's, and before he could react, she tightened her grip and quickly began to siphon his power.

Ephraim began to scream in pain, not being able to stop her from siphoning. He began to grow weaker and Mary Louise used the power she gained to throw him against the wall, immediately knocking him unconscious.

Mary Louise used the remaining magic she had left to unravel the chains and free herself. She looked at her brother. He would survive the impact, and even though she wanted to hurt him as bad as he had hurt her, the sun would be up soon, and she had to get as far away from here as possible.

Without a second look back, Mary Louise used whatever energy she had left to run as far away from this place as her legs would carry her, never to come back.

* * *

LOUD, urgent, knocking, and a man's voice begging for help, had disturbed a small dinner Cynthia had cooked. All eight of them exchanged confused looks, but Adam was not one to turn down help, so they all rushed to the Foyer.

When Adam opened the door, a man, whom they all recognized as the other Host from the Ball, was on the other side.

"Come in," Adam said, and the young Man obliged. He looked shaken up, and there was some blood on his clothes. "What happened?"

"These people just broke in to our home," He said between breaths. "They killed some of our staff. I tried to fight them off, but they were too strong."

"Did you see what they looked like?" Jonas asked.

"No," The Man said. "But they had something on them."

Adam was curious. "What did they have?"

"It's hard to explain. I could draw it for you."

Callum rushed over to one of the drawers in the foyer, pulling out a pen and paper. He handed it to The Man, who began to draw.

"Something like this," The Man finally said, showing everyone a Triquetra with a Templar symbol in the middle.

The eight of them exchanged looks. It was the same mark of the Veiled Coven members they had encounters with.

"There is something else you should know," The Man said as he turned his attention to Mary Louise. "They took Victoria."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** A quick thank you to all you lovely people who have taken the time to read this story and/or comment. Any suggestions on writing improvements are always appreciated.

* * *

 **CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

"WHAT do you mean _they_ took her?" Mary Louise asked, her voice tense with anger.

"It all happened so fast," The Man said as he looked at Mary Louise. "Just before one of the other's hit me from behind, I saw them forcefully dragging her out of the home. I can still hear her screams…for you."

Mary Louise clenched her fists, her face etched with anger. They had picked the wrong person to piss off.

Nora noticed the anger on Mary Louise's face. There was a time when that side of Mary Louise only showed toward people that had wronged her. To see it for someone else felt like someone had punched her in the gut.

Adam turned his attention to Callum. "Can you please take this gentleman to the medic bay and treat his wounds?"

Callum nodded his head. "If you could kindly follow me."

The Man looked at the group who was showing him a great deal of kindness. "What about Victoria?"

"We'll figure it out, don't worry," Adam reassured. The Man looked somewhat skeptical, until he relaxed.

"Thank you," He said before he followed Callum to the medic bay.

Barron looked at his family members. "Not to be Captain Obvious, but how exactly are we going to find Victoria? I mean, we've been chasing these Veiled Coven members for months before Mary Louise and Nora came here, and found nothing."

"When I first encountered them," Nora began to say, "they said I was on their territory. Does that field hold any significance?"

Jonas scoffed. "Typical Cyrus. He thinks everything belongs to him. Our first encounter with him and his now dead Crew was when the four of us were playing baseball at night in an empty park. They almost killed Callum. We barely escaped."

Cynthia closed her eyes at the memory, remembering Barron, who was bloody, carrying a limp Callum, while Jonas supported Sage who had a broken ankle. She had spent that night in the medic bay with the four of them, as Adam made sure they would make it through the night.

"The other encounters haven't ended any better," Cynthia reminded.

"Cyrus is an egotistical asshole," Sage added. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was behind this."

"I'll tear his throat out," Mary Louise said through clenched teeth.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Nora asked. There was a hint of jealousy in her voice. "Did you not listen the first time? We have no way of finding them."

Sage cleared her throat. "That's not entirely true. We can do a locator spell. All we would need is something of significant value to Victoria, and we should be able to find her."

"Even if we did go back to her home, how could we possibly know what holds that much value?" Barron asked, and Sage knew he had a point. The spell would only work if it were an object she cherished.

Nora saw Mary Louise reach into her pocket and pull out her brooch.

"This should do," Mary Louise said as she handed it to Sage.

"Is this hers?" Sage asked, and Mary Louise shook her head.

"No. It was mine. But she took it and kept it for over 130 years. It holds significance to her."

Barron noticed the uncomfortable look on Nora's face. He felt for her.

"Let's get prepared," Sage said. "If both of you can help with the spell, we'll find where they are keeping her faster."

* * *

CALLUM had finished treating the minor wounds of Victoria's friend before sending him off with money for a cab and a hotel. He figured he wouldn't want to return to the place where a massacre had just happened, and he had refused to spend the night here. Callum promised he would keep him updated on finding Victoria, and he thanked Callum for his kindness.

He headed into the library where the others were. There was a large map of the city lying on the floor, with Mary Louise's brooch to the side. There were also many unlit candles surrounding the room.

Sage, Mary Louise, and Nora took a seat on the floor in a circle like shape, the map in between them. The three of them joined hands, and Sage signaled for Cynthia to shut off the lights.

The room was completely pitch black as the others stood by and watched. Within seconds, all the candles in the room were lit, causing Callum to gasp in excitement. He was always fascinated by these kinds of things.

" _Quaerentes enim inveniunt eum,"_ The three of them began to chant in unison with their eyes closed. Adam, who was familiar with Latin, knew it roughly translated to 'find the one we seek.'

They continued to chant the same phrase over and over again until the brooch was pushed on the map. The five others watched in fascination as the brooch moved around the map in a frenzy until it finally settled slightly to the right of the map. The girls opened their eyes, and all the candles extinguished, causing Cynthia to turn the lights back on.

"There," Sage pointed. "That's where we'll find Victoria."

* * *

"WHY do these people insist on picking the most gaudy places to hold their secret meetings?" Nora asked as she looked at the large abandoned church that was probably beautiful in it's prime. Now, wooden panels and graffiti replaced the stained glass windows.

Barron shrugged. "Maybe they learn it in Villain 101."

Nora looked at Barron and smirked.

"So aside from the cloaking spell you all just did, do we have an actual plan?" Jonas asked, and then quickly looked at Nora and Mary Louise. "And 'ripping their heads off and smashing them together like disgusting melons' isn't a plan."

Nora frowned. They had been so quick to leave; they hadn't thought about an actual plan, or how many people they could be facing inside. A silence overcame them as they individually tried to come up with a plan that would result in a successful mission.

"We should stick together," Barron finally suggested, snapping the others out of their own thoughts.

"Yeah," Sage said as she looked around. "That sounds good…but I think Mary Louise already went inside."

Nora turned, a frantic look appearing on her face. Sage was right. Mary Louise had left when they were all preoccupied.

"Damnit," Nora said. If Mary Louise got herself killed for some trashy girl, she would never forgive her.

Nora and Sage teleported Barron and Jonas into the Church, and they found Mary Louise on one of the choir balconies, where they quickly joined her.

"What the hell, Mary Lou," Nora whispered, anger evident in her voice. "You can't just take off like that!"

"There she is," Mary Louise said as she pointed to the church alter, ignoring everything Nora had just said. Victoria was bound with duct tape and rope, and there was blood dripping from her head. She was hurt, terrified and crying. These people had done a number on her in the short time she had been with them.

Nora couldn't have cared less about Victoria. The only reason she agreed to go on this bloody mission was so that she could make sure Mary Louise came home alive.

"And there's Cyrus," Barron whispered as Cyrus appeared with eight other men. They reminded Sage, Jonas, Barron and Nora of his old Crew, but with more muscle and meaner looking.

All of a sudden Mary Louise appeared on the ground floor, behind one of the eight men who was more distant from the others, and snapped his neck.

"Damnit, Mary Lou!" Nora exclaimed as she rolled her eyes and quickly appeared on the ground floor. Sage had also teleported Jonas and Barron down, who had both transformed into their wolf-selves.

The seven other Crewmembers stepped back, waiting for Cyrus's orders, while Victoria's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Mary Louise.

Cyrus only smiled as he slow clapped. He reminded Mary Louise of a snake. She would enjoy killing him.

Cyrus stopped clapping. "I'm impressed. The gang is all here." He looked at Mary Louise. "The first time I saw you, you were almost dead. Killing you then would have been a favour. Now, it will just be fun."

Victoria, who had a gag in her mouth, mumbled something, causing Mary Louise to avert her attention to her.

Cyrus smiled. "Or, I can kill her while you watch."

The sclera part of Mary Louise's eyes turned a dark blood red as the veins near the bottom of her eyes pulsated. Her fangs were out. She was ready for a fight.

Before Cyrus could order his crew, Mary Louise waved her arm, sending Cyrus flying toward one of the choir balconies. His body hit the cement hard, and he fell to the ground, just behind the church alter, unconscious.

Victoria, who had seen Mary Louise use magic, seemed confused.

His Crew wasted no time, and they went on the attack. Barron quickly slashed one of the men's throats, while Jonas took another one and snapped his neck. Jonas was about to get jumped from behind by someone, but Nora had interfered, and sunk her teeth into the man's neck, while using her free hand to snap another man's neck with her magic. Sage used her magic to light two of them on fire, while Mary Louise fed on the last one.

The fight was over before it had started, and the only thing that remained was the bloody aftermath.

Mary Louise's face returned back to normal as she wiped the blood from the corners of her mouth while Jonas headed behind the church alter to where Cyrus had fallen.

When he got there a frustrated look appeared on his face. "He's gone."

Mary Louise turned to Victoria, who looked even more terrified now than she had before. She slowly approached her, watching Victoria's eyes frantically try to put together what just happened.

Mary Louise gently removed the restraints and the gag from Victoria's mouth as the others watched.

Nora swallowed hard when she saw Mary Louise gingerly wipe away the blood from Victoria's forehead. The room had become awfully quiet.

Without warning, Victoria suddenly wrapped her arms around Mary Louise and began to loudly sob as she squeezed her tight.

"It's okay," Mary Louise reassured as she comforted her friend. "You're safe now."

Victoria momentarily separated from the hug, cupping Mary Louise's face in her hands.

Their faces were so close together that for a moment Nora felt her heart stop, not sure what was going to happen.

"You came for me," Victoria finally said before she hugged her again. "You came for me…"

Mary Louise put a comforting hand on Victoria's back as she continued to cry, and reassured her friend that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

CYRUS made his way toward the Sacred Room of the Coven. He had been summoned again by the Order, but this time he wasn't so nervous. He had been expecting it.

When he entered the dark room, with only one light in the middle of the room, he was surprised by the turn out. Only five members were there, covered in their veils.

"You look a mess," Came the female Elder voice.

"What can I say," Cyrus said. "Those gang of misfits have gotten better."

"And what happened to your crewmembers?"

"All dead. It was a surprise I even got out of there alive." Cyrus paused. He looked troubled.

"What is it, boy?" The male Elder voice said sensing his hesitance.

"There's a problem. With both the vampires."

"So the blonde one is alive?" The female Elder voice asked.

"And very much well," Cyrus answered. "When I said I was surprised I got out of their alive it is because the blonde one flung me across the room. And when they thought I was still unconscious, I saw the brunette vampire wave her hand and snap one of my guy's necks."

There were whispers. This was impossible.

"Are you sure it wasn't the witch?" The female Elder asked.

"Positive. It was the vampires. I don't know how two witches could keep their powers after being turned into a vampire, but they have."

The Elder male raised his hand. "Thank you for the update, Cyrus, as well as your hard work. Allow yourself some time to recoup from your injuries. You are dismissed."

Cyrus quickly bowed before turning toward the door and leaving.

Once he was gone, the five Veiled Coven members turned to each other. Vampires who were able to use magic now threatened the Order. A hybrid not considered possible, and there was only one explanation, for they knew these two vampires weren't ordinary witches.

Individually the five of them slowly began to remove their veils, revealing their identities.

Luther looked at his wife, Margret, and their three sons, Ephraim, Samuel and Noah. Mary Louise had proved to be a wild card, one they had underestimated over 100 years ago. Now she was back, a vampire, and with her siphoning abilities. They had to be smart about this; their plan would need some alterations.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Thank you all for the kind reviews. I've been back reading some chapters and want to apologize for mistakes (trying to improve my writing, so I am sorry for that). Any suggestions/improvements in writing is always appreciated.

* * *

 **CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

VICTORIA sat upright on one of the beds in the medic bay, still shaking uncontrollably from the events that had taken place that night.

Adam carefully examined Victoria. Most of her wounds were superficial, and his only concern was the gash on her head that could have caused a concussion, and her resting heart rate that was higher than normal.

"Is she going to be okay?" Mary Louise asked with worry in her voice. She was standing by the side of the bed.

"Yes," Adam answered, before looking directly at Victoria. "But my only concern is your head injury and your heart rate. If you have a concussion, I do not want to give you a sedative."

"Can you even sleep with a concussion?" Victoria joked.

"It's a myth that you can't. I would be more worried if you were unable to walk or hold a conversation, but seeing as you can, sleep would probably be the best for you."

Victoria nodded. "Thank you for looking after me…and my friend. I was worried they might have killed him."

Adam put a comforting hand on Victoria's shoulder. With a smile he said, "Anytime. It's what we do here."

Adam looked at his watch. "It's getting late, and not that I anticipate on needing them, but there are active monitors in here to alert me or Callum of any sudden changes in your condition."

Nora, who was the only other person in the room, watched as Victoria nodded her head in understanding. Sometimes the two of them would make eye contact briefly, both wondering exactly what the other person was doing here. Nora, of course, wasn't exactly sure why she was here. Victoria meant nothing to her, but Mary Louise had been glued to Victoria's side ever since they rescued her from that abandoned Church.

"Good night, Ladies," Adam said before he exited the room.

Mary Louise watched him go before turning her attention back to Victoria. "He's right. You should try and get some sleep."

After the night they all had, it was a surprise they were even still awake, and all Nora wanted to do was head to their room, and climb into their bed, and wrap her arms around Mary Louise and fall asleep to the sound of her heart beat.

"I'll see you in the morning," Mary Louise said to Victoria, and Nora felt a sense of wrongly placed smugness that tonight she was going to get the girl. _Her_ girl.

As Mary Louise headed toward the end of the bed, Victoria suddenly grabbed her wrist tightly, and it reminded Nora of the time Mary Louise had grabbed her wrist in the Armory.

"Don't go," Victoria pleaded, her eyes welling up with tears.

Mary Louise looked down at her wrist.

Victoria continued, "Please. Stay with me. At least until I fall asleep."

Mary Louise briefly turned her attention to Nora, feeling torn.

"Please," Victoria said, her voice breaking.

"I'll stay," Mary Louise finally said, making her way back to Victoria. She noticed Victoria's heart rate had begun to lower as evident on the machine.

Nora watched as Mary Louise pulled up a stool, with her magic, next to the bed, and sat down while holding Victoria's hand, just as Victoria began to lower herself into a sleeping position.

Nora looked at Mary Louise, who didn't seem to notice that she was still there. A part of her felt crushed as she headed toward the door and exited the room without so much as a word to either of them. She had only made it a couple of steps outside in the corridor before she turned her back against the wall and slid down, covering her mouth as a dry sob escaped.

* * *

 _ **LONDON, 1880**_

"DO you believe in love at first sight?" Nora casually asked Mary Louise as the two of them made their way back to the Tavern after a post-dinner night stroll.

Mary Louise frowned. It was such an odd and random question to be asked. Part of her wanted to say no; that it was absurd to even believe one could fall in love with just a glimpse of the other person without truly knowing them. The other part of her knew saying that was a lie. It was a lie because she had fallen in love with someone with just one look. She had fallen in love with Nora. The moment she saw Nora standing in the middle of that small room, back in 1878, it was like time had stopped, and all she yearned for was her.

"I can't say I have given it much thought," Mary Louise finally answered. "What about you? Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"It's kind of preposterous when you think about it," Nora answered with a shy smile. "I mean to fancy someone with just one look into their eyes. I would be skeptical…if it didn't happen to me."

Mary Louise raised an eyebrow, feeling a lump rise in her throat. "You're in love…with someone?"

Nora nodded her head, while Mary Louise racked through her brain to figure out who had captivated Nora's heart over the last two years, and came up blank. In all their past encounters with male vampires, there was no suitor that Nora seemed interested in, and if she were, Mary Louise would have been the first person she told.

They arrived at the Tavern, and as they entered their home, Nora said, "It doesn't matter. I don't think they feel the same way."

"They would be foolish if they didn't," Mary Louise said.

"Where is everybody?" Nora asked as the two made their way upstairs. "Are they still out?"

Mary Louise followed Nora into her bedroom. "Julian and Lily are out on a date. I believe Malcolm, Beau, and Oliver are trying their luck with some of London's finest women, and Valerie—well, who ever knows where she heads off to."

Nora laughed. "Imagine one of the guys bringing a girl home? Permanently?"

Mary Louise forced a smile. There were times when she would see one of the guys bring someone back home, and she would wonder what it was like to go on a date. Other times, she would be completely envious over Julian and Lily's relationship, something she longed to have. Most of the time, it made her sad to think about all of it.

Nora noticed the sudden sad expression on Mary Louise's face. "Is everything okay? You look sad."

Mary Louise gave Nora a reassuring smile. "Just tired, is all. Goodnight, Nora."

Mary Louise quickly turned her back, and exited Nora's room, closing the door quietly. Sometimes she hated how unfair the world was, and that angered her. She just wanted the same opportunity that everyone else had: to love and be loved.

She clenched her fists as the sclera part of her eye turned a blood red from anger. There was a hunger in her that wanted more than blood. After a moment, when her eyes reverted back to normal she opened Nora's door.

"Mare," Nora said. She was standing near her bed. "Are you sure everyth"—

Mary Louise cut Nora off by using her vampire speed to be in front of her in less than a millisecond, startling her.

Their eyes briefly danced, before Mary Louise closed her eyes and pressed her lips against Nora's, and gently pushed her tongue inside of Nora's mouth. Every hair on her arm stood up as their lips and tongues moved in unison. It was Mary Louise's first kiss, and it was intense, passionate and electric.

After a moment, Mary Louise separated from the kiss and looked at Nora, horrified at what she had just done.

"I'm sorry," Mary Louise stammered before she quickly ran out of Nora's room.

Nora, who was frozen in the middle of her bedroom, with her mouth agape, heard Mary Louise slam her bedroom door. She could still taste Mary Louise on her lips, it was sweet and it reminded her of ripe strawberries. Her mind kept replaying the kiss—her first kiss—over and over again. Nora noticed that Mary Louise seemed to think she had done something wrong, not realizing that she had kissed her back with just as much longing and passion, after all, she too had been wanting to kiss Mary Louise for almost two years now.

* * *

MARY LOUISE quietly exited the medic bay. Victoria had finally fallen asleep, and all she wanted to do was head to bed.

Her eyebrows furrowed, noticing Nora sitting against the wall in the corridor. Without saying anything, Mary Louise made her way to the wall, and slid down next to Nora, so that their shoulders were touching.

They both sat in silence, staring blankly at the corridor wall across from them, until Nora placed her head on Mary Louise's shoulder, and Mary Louise laid her head on top of Nora's.

"I know, when you are ready, you'll tell me who Victoria is," Nora began to say. "I also know that you care a great deal for her."

Mary Louise didn't say anything.

"You could have gotten yourself killed tonight, Mary Lou. You were reckless. And I know you did it to protect Victoria—but if anything happened to you"—she cut herself off, not being able to finish that sentence of what ifs.

"I'm sorry," Mary Louise said, and she truly was.

Nora closed her eyes. She would get up soon and head for bed, but right now any physical contact she had with Mary Louise felt borrowed and she just wanted to stay in this moment.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N** : Thank you for your reviews, they are very much appreciated.

* * *

 **CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

 _ **LONDON, 1880**_

IT had been a week since Mary Louise had taken Nora by surprise and kissed her on the lips. _Hard_.

Mary Louise seemed to think that she had done something wrong, evident by the fact that she had been going out of her way to avoid Nora. The others began to notice the rift between the two who seemed inseparable, and Lily, who did not tolerate any kind of fracturing in the family, had sent both Nora and Mary Louise on a late night errand that was so mundane, Mary Louise had tried to talk herself out of going.

That didn't go over well with Lily, and she practically kicked the two of them out of the Tavern, only expecting their return when their task was completed.

They had completed the errand rather quickly, and as the two of them walked down the empty streets of London heading back to the Tavern, Nora couldn't stop thinking about Mary Louise's lips pressed against hers as their tongues briefly danced in a rhythmic motion. She craved the taste of Mary Louise on her lips again more than she craved blood.

The walk was filled with uncomfortable silence. Mary Louise could barely look at Nora in the eye, and Nora couldn't handle the tension any longer.

"This is ludicrous," Nora suddenly said, causing Mary Louise to stop in her tracks.

"Where are you going?" Mary Louise asked while watching Nora turn down the nearest ally.

Mary Louise could hear Nora chuckle as she said, "That's the most words you've said to me in seven bloody days."

Mary Louise sighed in frustration. All she wanted to do was go home, and if she returned home without Nora, Lily would bombard her with questions she didn't want to answer.

Mary Louise followed Nora into the ally, and suddenly felt Nora grab her wrist and pin her up against the wall. It had caught her by surprise.

"You kissed me," Nora said. "Why did you do that?"

Mary Louise blinked, trying to process exactly what was happening. She could feel her heart begin to race and her breathing was becoming labored as tears welled up in her eyes. Her voice cracked. "I'm sorry…I don't know what happened…I'm sorry."

Nora could see the tears stream down Mary Louise's face as she began to cry, which caused her to let go of her wrist and take a step back.

"Why are you crying?" Nora asked, confusion noticeable in her voice.

If Mary Louise weren't so upset, she would have laughed at the absurdity of Nora's question. "I'm crying because of this. Isn't that why you grabbed me? To reprimand me for my actions?" She turned her head away from Nora, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Nora blinked in confusion. "I didn't grab you to reprimand you."

It took a moment for Mary Louise to register what Nora had just said. "What?"

Nora continued, "I wanted to talk about the kiss. It's all I have been thinking about these last days."

Mary Louise still seemed perplexed about what exactly was going on. _I must be dreaming,_ she thought. _This only ever happens in my dreams._

"Don't you think about it?" Nora asked, causing Mary Louise to focus her attention back on Nora.

Of course Mary Louise thought about it. She had thought about kissing Nora for two bloody years and dreamt about it almost every night. The fact that she had actually kissed Nora a week ago was still quite a surprise for her.

"I do," Mary Louise said, but it was so quiet Nora almost didn't hear it.

"Then why have you been ignoring me?"

"Because it's wrong!" Mary Louise blurted out harshly.

Nora looked straight into Mary Louise's eyes. "Did it feel wrong?"

Mary Louise let out a heavy sigh. Kissing Nora didn't feel wrong. It felt like a million synapses were running through her body, and every fiber in her being had woken up from a dead slumber. She had finally felt alive.

"It doesn't matter," Mary Louise said dismissively.

"Of course it matters," Nora reassured.

"No. It doesn't. Even if I were to open up about my feelings, even if you were to look at me no different—even if you didn't hate me for kissing you—you're still in love with another."

Nora let out a hearty laugh, being powerless to stop herself. Mary Louise was offended, but also worried that she would wake up the people sleeping in the rooms upstairs.

"Nora!" Mary Louise hissed. "Stop laughing!"

Nora was doubled over, unable to catch her breath. She couldn't remember the last time she had a good laugh.

"Stop it!" Mary Louise said again through gritted teeth. "It's not funny!"

Nora tried to regain her composure. "It's funny."

Mary Louise frowned, anger showing on her face. "I'm glad you are having a good laugh at my expense. I'm going home."

"Wait!" Nora said as she saw Mary Louise head back toward the street. "Don't you want to know what is so funny?"

Mary Louise huffed as she stopped and turned around to face Nora. "What is so funny?"

"The person who I told you I fell in love with in just one glance…I was talking about you, Mary Lou."

Mary Louise blinked twice as she replayed Nora's words in her head. From the pit of her stomach, almost as if it was involuntary, a chuckle escaped, and it quickly turned into a fit of heavy laughter that she couldn't stop.

"See, I told you it was funny," Nora said once the two of them were calm enough and the laughter had subsided.

"I must be dreaming," Mary Louise said. "I'm certain I am dreaming."

"You aren't dreaming. I mean, when you kissed me I thought I was dreaming. I never felt so alive in my life."

Mary Louise turned toward Nora. For the longest time she had felt like an abnormality. Being a Siphoner in the Gemini Coven was hard. Being a Siphoner and a homosexual was even harder. "So, you're like me?"

Nora nodded her head. "And this whole time I thought I was the only one who fancied women."

Both women found it strangely comforting to know they weren't the only ones to be burdened with a forbidden desire.

"What are the odds?" Mary Louise asked as she leaned against the wall in the ally.

"To both be Siphoners, homosexual, and vampires?" Nora asked.

Mary Louise smiled. "That, and how we both ended up in the same family, and how we both fancy each other."

Nora smiled coyly. "So, you do fancy me."

Mary Louise bit her lip as her face turned a bright red. Thankfully it was too dark for Nora to notice. There was nothing more she wanted in this world than Nora.

The air seemed to get heavy; as if they knew whatever was to come out of this conversation wouldn't last or wouldn't work. There was nothing more tragic than two people wanting each other, and knowing it could never be.

Still, they both didn't survive all they had been through only to live a life void of love. They owed it to themselves, at the very least, to try.

"They would never approve," Nora suddenly said as if the two were subconsciously on the same page.

Mary Louise knew that. "They don't have to know."

Nora looked at Mary Louise curiously. "What do you mean?"

"We'll hide it."

Nora crossed her arms. "Hide it? Just like we tried to hide our siphoning abilities? Look how that turned out."

"It will be different this time," Mary Louise said. "We were careless with our siphoning and got caught. We won't make the same mistake again."

Nora looked into Mary Louise's eyes, as if she was pleading for her to try. It wasn't that she didn't want to try; it was just that she was skeptical. But then again, what good was being immortal if you didn't have someone to share it with.

Mary Louise got up from against the wall, bowing slightly while extending a hand toward Nora.

"What on earth are you doing?" Nora asked.

"I'm courting you," Mary Louise answered. "I want to see what this world has to offer. Together."

Nora smiled, and after a moment she took Mary Louise's hand. It would not be easy for the both of them, but any love worth fighting for never was.

* * *

NORA made her way into the kitchen, stopping when she saw Victoria sitting at the kitchen island, reading the morning paper, and eating one of the pastries that Cynthia had left out for everyone. She looked better from the night before, but Nora was never overly concerned about her health.

Victoria looked up, sensing someone's presence. "Nora, right?" She took another bite of her pastry.

Nora barely nodded her head, keeping her eyes trained on Victoria as she made her way to the 'blood-try.' She briefly bent down to pull out a blood bag and place it on top of the counter before shutting the pantry door.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Victoria noted, while her eyes wandered over to the dark red blood bag.

Nora could tell that Victoria was getting squeamish at the sight of the blood, so she grabbed one of the straws that were on top of the kitchen island, just across from Victoria, and forced it into the blood bag before taking a long sip.

Victoria pushed her pastry away, immediately losing her appetite. She thought about Mary Louise, her dearest and oldest friend, who was a vampire now. She trembled at the thought of Mary Louise needing human blood to survive.

"Did you turn her?" Victoria suddenly asked, causing Nora to raise an eyebrow.

"What now?" Nora asked between sips of blood.

"Did you turn Mary Louise into this _thing?_ Into a vampire?"

Nora chuckled, her eyes narrowing as she leaned across the kitchen island. She was a few inches away from Victoria's face. "And what if I did?"

Victoria swallowed hard, and Nora could sense she was getting uncomfortable.

As Nora leaned back she answered, "I didn't. She was already turned before I met her."

Victoria only nodded her head. There was something about Nora that made her afraid. "Can I ask you something?"

"I suppose," Nora answered. It wasn't like there was anyone else in the kitchen that Victoria could speak with.

"How attached is Mary Louise to these people? I want to ask Mary Louise to come live with me, but I don't want to offend anyone in this house, especially after you all have been so kind to me."

For a moment, Nora was speechless. "What makes you think she would want to live with you?"

Victoria smiled. "She's my dearest and oldest friend. Back in the day, we would talk about living together. Now we have an opportunity to. There is no way she will say no."

Nora felt her anger rising at the pit of her stomach. The nerve of this woman was beginning to test her temper.

"I mean it's not like it would be far. We live fairly close by. And, as her friends, you could come visit her anytime. Besides, no one knows Mary Louise like I know her.  
You may have known her longer as a vampire, but I have a connection with her as a human, and what a kind and caring person she was, always putting others first. You will never know her like I know her. I can make her see her humanity again."

Nora took a breath, resisting every urge to snap Victoria's neck, for she knew if she hurt Victoria, Mary Louise would never forgive her.

"Without a doubt, Mary Louise will say yes," Victoria finished.

Mary Louise, who was standing in the doorframe of the kitchen, looked at Victoria and Nora, before asking, "Say yes to what?"


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** I can't thank you all enough for the reviews. Thank you for taking the time to read each chapter. I appreciate it. Truly.

* * *

 **CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

 _ **LONDON, 1877**_

IT was an exceptionally hot day in the middle of summer, and Victoria had decided it was the perfect day to head to the beach. Mary Louise didn't need much convincing to go; any moment she spent alone with Victoria always brought her much happiness. It would be an afternoon well spent.

The sound of Seagulls welcomed the girls as they ran down a small slope toward the hot sand with their beach towels in hand.

Victoria quickly found a perfect spot to lay their belongings down. "This is going to be the best afternoon."

Mary Louise smiled. "It already is."

Victoria looked out at the water, the waves coming in and out. A competitive smile appeared on her face. "Race you."

Before Mary Louise could react, Victoria had taken off running, and she followed right behind her. "Cheater!"

The cool water was a welcome relief from the hot sun, as the two playfully splashed each other. Mary Louise, who was a little more adventurous, swam further out, ignoring Victoria's insistent nagging to come back.

After awhile, the two finally got out of the water and headed back to their belongings to dry off.

"I'm exhausted," Victoria said as she lay down on her towel and closed her eyes. "I think the sun is getting to me."

Mary Louise, who was also lying down on her towel, turned her head to look at Victoria.

"If I fall asleep, promise you will wake me."

Mary Louise was about to answer, but was cut off by a familiar voice.

"I'll wake you up," Thomas said, which caused Victoria to sit up so fast, it made Mary Louise dizzy.

Thomas, the son of a Solicitor, with dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, a square jaw line and a muscular build that fit his 6'0 frame perfectly, was all the talk among the younger, eligible women. A simple smile from him would make girls go into a frenzy.

As Mary Louise sat herself up, she couldn't see the appeal he had on women, especially Victoria, who seemed completely smitten with him. Ever since Victoria met him, all their conversations had been ' _Thomas did this,'_ or ' _Thomas_ _said that.'_

"Mind if I join you ladies?" He asked.

"Of course not!" Victoria exclaimed. "There is plenty of room."

Mary Louise rolled her eyes as Thomas sat right in front of Victoria. She knew Victoria was madly in love with Thomas because Victoria looked at him the way she looked at her. For her, it was an unrequited love that shattered her heart into a million pieces.

The two of them seemed to be in their own world, talking about random topics that Mary Louise couldn't keep up with. The afternoon was supposed to be theirs, and somehow it became about _them._

Mary Louise adjusted herself on her towel, and pulled her legs up to her chin, looking out towards the water. She had given up trying to include herself in a conversation she wasn't meant to be privy to.

The waves rolling in and out in a steady motion had captivated Mary Louise's attention, that she hadn't noticed that both Victoria and Thomas were now standing up, and calling her name.

"Mary Louise!" Victoria shouted, startling Mary Louise. "Thomas and I are going to go for a walk. You will be okay to go home by yourself, won't you?"

Mary Louise swallowed hard and simply nodded her head.

"We will talk tomorrow, I promise," Victoria said as she collected her belongings. She quickly kissed Mary Louise on the cheek before she grabbed Thomas's arm and strolled away.

Mary Louise watched the two disappear down the beach, and when they were finally out of her sight, she got up and slowly picked up her things as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

The afternoon had not been so great after all.

* * *

"THIS is a beautiful place," Victoria said as she and Mary Louise walked out into the courtyard.

Mary Louise eyed Victoria suspiciously, not sure why she had dragged her outside. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Victoria said as the two took a seat on a bench that overlooked a fountain that was in the middle of the courtyard. She grabbed Mary Louise's hand. "Thank you for saving my life."

Mary Louise smiled. There was never any doubt she would. "So, I am sure you didn't bring me out here to give me a tour of my own courtyard."

Victoria blushed and laughed softly. "No, you are right. I didn't bring you out here to admire the beautiful view. I just wanted some privacy while I asked you an important question."

Mary Louise was curious. "And what would that be?"

"Do you remember when we would talk about our future, and how you were so convinced you would never settle down and marry?"

Mary Louise nodded, as memories of the 1870's filled her mind. Victoria was right, she had expressed multiple times she had no desire to ever settle down or marry. There was simply no bloke she was fond of, for reasons that were so obvious now.

Victoria continued, "And do you remember how we would joke that once I were to marry, I would have to make sure the home I lived in had a room for you, if you were unmarried still, as we were a packaged deal?"

Mary Louise laughed at the fond memory. It was true, they were inseparable back then, and yet, sometimes those memories felt like it was from another lifetime. And then again, maybe it was.

"Seeing you has been unexpected, Mary Louise, but it has brought so much joy to me to know that you are alive and well."

"I guess it has been a shock for both of us," Mary Louise added. "To see each other again after almost two lifetimes apart."

"So come live with me," Victoria blurted out. "You said it yourself, we have two lifetimes to catch up on."

Mary Louise was taken aback by Victoria's statement.

"How long have you known these people for anyway? And it's not like you won't be able to see them, we don't live that far apart."

"You want me to live with you?" Mary Louise clarified, as if she had misheard Victoria's original question.

"Yes! We would have the most darling time together. We used to talk about this before. Now we can finally live together. I have plenty of rooms at my place."

Mary Louise got up from the bench. This was a lot to take in. "I can't."

Victoria frowned, and she slowly got up to reach Mary Louise's height. "What do you mean you can't?"

"These people have become a second family to me after I lost my first family in Mystic Falls. They saved my life. I can't turn my back on them."

Victoria seemed confused about Mary Louise's reference to Mystic Falls, but dismissed it. "Even still, it's not like you are cutting them out of your life. As I said, you can still see them whenever you chose."

Mary Louise stayed quiet as Victoria placed her hands on her shoulders.

"Besides, who have you known longer? Me or them?"

Mary Louise sighed heavily, as Victoria smiled warmly.

"It would be like old times," Victoria continued. "We can even find you a nice bloke to set you up with. We would have so much fun."

Mary Louise felt Victoria's hands move down her arms, stopping just above her elbows.

Victoria's face was full of eager. "What do you say?"

"I'm in a relationship."

Victoria's eyebrows furrowed, not expecting that to be the answer to a yes or no question. "You are?" There was surprise in her voice.

Mary Louise slightly nodded.

Victoria tried to think of whom Mary Louise could be dating, and remembered seeing her with Callum at the ball, sharing a dance. "With Callum? No offense, but he just doesn't seem like he would be your type."

"You're right, he's not my type," Mary Louise said. "But Callum is a lovely, caring human, and anyone would be lucky to have him as a partner."

"I didn't mean it like that. He is a very nice man," Victoria corrected. "He just reminds me of Henry, and you had zero interest in him back in the day. I'm just trying to figure who enthralled your heart enough to be in a relationship, a task seemed once impossible."

Mary Louise listened quietly as Victoria named Jonas, and then quickly amended herself as he seemed to be really into his date, Sage, at the Ball.

"Does he even live here?" Victoria finally asked. "Because if he doesn't live here, there is no reason for you to technically stay. Besides, I would love to meet the person who stole my friend's heart."

Mary Louise bit her inner cheek before saying, "You already have."

A perplexed look came over Victoria. "I have?"

"Nora."

Victoria immediately let go of Mary Louise's arm, and took a step back. "But Nora is…she's a woman."

Mary Louise took a step forward, causing Victoria to take another step back. "I can explain."

Victoria's face began to express a series of emotions in rapid succession, starting with confusion and ending with disgust. That expression hurt Mary Louise the most.

"How long have you been like this?"

"My whole life," Mary Louise answered, her voice cracking as tears welled in her eyes. "I wanted to tell you"—

Victoria put up a hand, stopping Mary Louise from finishing her sentence. Mary Louise could only watch as Victoria was processing the information of her sexuality.

"You know, when I found out you were a Siphoner, I didn't believe it, and then when I thought you had died I accepted the possibility that maybe there were people in the Gemini Coven that were plagued with this abnormality."

Victoria paused briefly. "And then, when I found out you were a Vampire, I admit it unsettled me, but I accepted it as a price to be paid to keep you alive for this long. But this?"

Victoria paused again, shaking her head. "It's okay. This can be fixed. We can fix you."

Tears streamed down Mary Louise's face, and in the softest voice she said, "Victoria, I'm not broken."

Victoria took a step forward and cupped Mary Louise's face in her hands, wiping away her tears with her thumb. "My dear friend, you are. Nora has probably brainwashed you into believing this type of deviant behavior is okay. It isn't, Mary Louise. It is not healthy."

Now Victoria was crying. " You just need to find the right male suitor. Come live with me and get away from this place that supports this perversion."

"I can't," Mary Louise said as Victoria removed her hands from her face. "I love her. I love Nora like you loved Thomas. Can't you understand that? I didn't choose this."

Victoria turned her head away again in disgust. "Don't you _ever_ compare what I had with Thomas to what you think you have with Nora. It's not the same. It will never be the same."

Victoria made eye contact with Mary Louise. "I have to go."

Victoria quickly bolted down the courtyard, back to the Sanctuary. Mary Louise called after her, asking her to stop.

Victoria opened the patio doors that lead to the now full kitchen. Her eyes wandered from Adam, to Cynthia, to Callum, Sage, Barron, and Jonas, before finally resting on Nora.

"You did this," Victoria said through tears, glaring directly at Nora.

Sage exchanged a confused glance with Nora, while Nora figured Mary Louise had turned down Victoria's offer to live with her.

Mary Louise came up behind Victoria, and it was only then that everyone else in the room suspected something had happened as they both appeared to be upset.

"Please, can we talk?" Mary Louise pleaded.

Victoria spun around facing Mary Louise. "When you want my help, we will talk. But if you continue to partake in this depravity, I can't be apart of that. I hope you will come to your senses one day."

Victoria turned back to face Adam and Cynthia. "Thank you for your hospitality. You seem like good people. I hope you two realize that this indecent behavior has to stop."

Nora's eyes followed Victoria as she made her way to the foyer, hearing the front door slam shut.

"Okay. What the hell was that about?" Callum asked as he put a spoonful of yogurt in his mouth.

"Mare?" Nora said as she turned her attention to Mary Louise who was crying. "What happened?"

"I told her I am gay," Mary Louise answered.

The room went silent; Victoria's rant suddenly making sense.

"I need to be alone," Mary Louise said as she walked passed everyone in the kitchen, heading toward the foyer stairs.

Nora was about to get up and follow Mary Louise, but she felt Cynthia's hands on her shoulder stopping her.

"Not yet," Cynthia said. "Give her some time."

Nora knew Cynthia was right, she just hated the idea of Mary Louise hurting. If Nora hadn't hated Victoria before, she definitely hated her now.


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

 _ **LONDON, 1881**_

IN a rather peculiar manner, Lily had summoned everyone into the bar area of the Tavern. There was excitement on her face, and also something else—something the others couldn't quite pinpoint. She had an announcement that involved a journey, some ways away from where they were, and the only problem was there was only enough room for seven, and they were a family of eight.

"I'll stay behind," Nora had volunteered. Even though she enjoyed outings with her family, she didn't particularly feel like making an overnight excursion.

"I'll stay behind too," Mary Louise had added. "Not that Nora can't handle herself, but if people perceive this place to be empty…"

Lily had thought that a great idea, and no one really questioned their motives as why they wanted to stay behind.

"We shall return tomorrow night," Lily had added before she entered the carriage, which would leave with the rest of the family.

Now, it was just the two of them, in an eerily quiet Tavern, lying next to each other on the bed in Nora's room.

"Last week marked a year that we have been together," Mary Louise said as she entwined her hand in Nora's.

Nora smiled sheepishly. She couldn't forget the day Mary Louise had courted her in that ally. It hadn't been an easy year. Nora could count on one hand the amount of secret kisses they had been able to give each other in the brief moments their family was away. But still, they had been completely devoted to each other, and now they were finally alone.

"Here is hoping for many more," Nora added. Even though it hadn't been easy, it was still the best year of her life, and every day she had fallen more in love with Mary Louise.

Mary Louise brought Nora's hand up to her lips and kissed it. "I don't think I have ever been so happy in my life."

All of a sudden, Nora quickly hoisted herself up, and then straddled Mary Louise, grabbing her other hand in hers.

Mary Louise raised both her eyebrows. This was different, but she didn't hate it.

Nora bent down, putting her lips on Mary Louise's, forcing her tongue in her mouth. The overdue kiss started off slowly and softly, their tongues getting reacquainted as they gently touched. The intensity of their kiss became faster, and harder, as if they were both subconsciously kissing as if it were their last.

Both their hearts began to beat faster by the time Nora had separated from the kiss, and without warning, Mary Louise used her vampire speed to put Nora underneath her.

They both looked into each other's eyes for a moment, their breathing becoming labored. Something animalistic took over them, as the sclera part of their eyes turned blood red simultaneously—not out of hunger for blood, but out of pure lust for each other, while they tore their clothes off and scattered their dresses and undergarments on the floor.

Soft moans escaped their lips at different times as they explored each other's bodies, bodies that seemed to be made for only each other. It was as though they needed each other more than they needed air, and no part of their bodies remained untouched by their lover's lips and hands.

It was their first time making love. When it was over, when they could still feel the sensation of their lover linger on their skin and in the air, it was pure ecstasy—a rush that not even drinking blood could replicate.

They fell asleep facing each other, with their arms and legs entwined, not wanting to let the other go. They stayed asleep in that position until the morning sun had peaked through the drawn curtains. It was the best sleep the two of them had in a long time.

Nora could hear the birds chirp, disbelieving that the night had gone so quickly. She almost didn't want it to end. "No, it can't be morning already."

Mary Louise smiled as she felt Nora snuggle closer into her. She could spend an eternity like this. "We still have time."

"Last night was spectacular," Nora murmured. "And magical, and"—

"Perfect," Mary Louise said, interrupting Nora.

They both opened their eyes and looked directly at each other. Their lips met for a single, slow, kiss. This was bliss. This was heaven. They needed to stay in this moment for as long as they could because they never knew when they would be able to be intimate again.

Nora's bedroom door suddenly opened, startling Nora and Mary Louise. On the other side of the door was Lily, and the rest of their family with horrified looks on their faces.

Nora and Mary Louise scrambled to cover themselves with the sheets as they turned a bright red, while Lily remained speechless. They had come home earlier than expected.

"What on earth is going on?" Lily asked looking at Nora and Mary Louise, but they couldn't look Lily back in the eye, for they suddenly felt ashamed.

"Both of you get dressed," Lily continued to say. "And then we are all going to have a talk downstairs. Now."

Lily left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Both Mary Louise and Nora were shaking. For a year they had successfully hid their romance, and now the whole family knew that they loved each other and had slept together. Since becoming vampires, there weren't many things that had scared them, but now they were both terrified.

* * *

NORA slowly opened the door to their bedroom and walked inside, noticing Mary Louise sitting at the edge of the bed. Her eyes were puffy from crying, and it killed Nora to see her hurt.

Nora sat down beside Mary Louise, not saying a word. There was nothing she could say that would change what Victoria had said to Mary Louise to cause her to be so upset. She just wanted Mary Louise to know that she was there for her. Whenever she was ready.

"She was my best friend," Mary Louise suddenly said. "We were inseparable growing up. I would have done anything for her…"

Even though Nora hated Victoria with every being in her body, she hated seeing Mary Louise hurt even more. "She just needs time."

Mary Louise chuckled as she turned to face Nora with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't take you for an optimistic, especially when it comes to Victoria."

"This is me trying," Nora responded as she placed her hand on top of Mary Louise's.

The gesture was small, but for Mary Louise it meant the world.


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

 _ **LONDON, 1881**_

NORA and Mary Louise sat in the middle of the Tavern, their heads lowered as Lily paced the room, while the others looked on.

Lily finally stopped pacing, slowly turning to face Mary Louise and Nora. She didn't know how to begin or what to say—this was certainly a surprise, to say the least. She would have never guessed Nora and Mary Louise were like _that._

"You both know I care deeply about you two," Lily began to say. "You will always be a part of this family, and I don't want to fracture what we have here."

Lily looked around the room, her eyes falling on each member: Julian, Malcolm, Oliver, Beau, and Valerie, before returning back to Mary Louise and Nora, who still hadn't looked up.

"But what you two were doing—it's obscene. Women do not belong with other women."

From the corner of Mary Louise's eye, she could see tears stream down Nora's face. _This is my entire fault,_ Mary Louise thought as her heart broke for Nora. _If I hadn't pursued her, none of this would be happening._

"We will look past this indiscretion," Lily continued to say. "But from now on, you both must understand that you two cannot be alone together, until whatever this is ends. Or until you both find proper male suitors."

Lily turned her attention to the other members of the family. "As for the rest of you, no one shall speak a word of this. Understood?"

They all nodded, knowing all too well the stigma attached with homosexual behavior.

Mary Louise tried to glance at Nora without making it obvious. She wanted so badly to put her hand on Nora's, to give her a reassuring squeeze that everything would be okay. But at the same time, she could feel Lily's eyes on her, as if she was trying to burn out whatever made them this way with a steely, disapproving glance.

For the briefest moment, Mary Louise thought that Lily's reaction wasn't so bad, as the two of them hadn't been out casted or hung by their feet. Then again, as tears fell from her own eyes, she realized that maybe Nora hadn't been crying because they had been caught, but crying because deep down she knew exactly what Lily was going to say.

They were forbidden to be together. There would be no more caresses, or holding of hands. There would be no more hugs or kisses, or any intimate contact. They would have to live the rest of their immortal lives with stolen, longing glances of a love that could never be.

The longer Mary Louise thought about what life that would be, the more she realized that this was a fate worse than any lashings she could ever receive.

* * *

MORNING had come all too quickly, a pattern Nora noticed after her and Mary Louise made love. They were both naked, with only a top sheet to cover them and as the early morning sun started to break through the curtains in their room, Nora turned over to face a soundly sleeping Mary Louise.

The sunrays that were able to peak through the curtains lightly touched Mary Louise's golden blonde hair. Nora couldn't help but admire how beautiful Mary Louise was, and how adorable it was when her brow would furrow, or a brief smile would appear across her face whilst dreaming.

Mary Louise slowly began to stir awake, her eyes briefly opening for a moment. With a wide smile she asked, "Were you watching me sleep?"

"I couldn't help it," Nora answered as she moved a strand of hair from Mary Louise's face. "You're adorable."

Mary Louise opened her eyes again, staring back at Nora. If she were being perfectly honest, Nora was the adorable one.

As if on cue, they both leaned in for a kiss. It had been a little over three years since they made love. With everything that happened between them, from their break up, to being held prisoner, to Mary Louise nearly dying—last night had felt like a surreal experience. In some ways it felt like their first time, with every breath, moan, kiss, and touch feeling new and unexplored. In other ways, it had felt like every time after their first, with their bodies fitting together as if it were their own. It was nothing short of beautiful.

When they parted from their kiss, Mary Louise grabbed a lock of Nora's curly hair and twirled it with her finger. "Should we join the others for breakfast?"

Nora wasn't in a terrible rush to get out of bed. There were moments where all Nora wanted to do was hold Mary Louise and never let go. Almost losing Mary Louise to poisoning had opened her eyes to how vulnerable they still were, and to cherish any moment they had together. However, her wanting to hold on to Mary Louise, and this moment, was an entirely different feeling. It was like a part of her was trying to tell her something that she couldn't understand.

"Can we just stay here for a little while longer?" Nora asked as she moved in closer to Mary Louise. Nora didn't need a verbal answer from Mary Louise, who had wrapped her arms around Nora. That was good enough.

* * *

WHEN Mary Louise entered the kitchen, almost two hours later, she noticed Callum was running in between Barron and Jonas, who were throwing a yo-yo Callum had made between them.

Callum looked frustrated. Even though he was tall, he wasn't as tall as Barron and Jonas, who also had their abilities to aid them in this monkey in the middle game.

"Come on guys," Callum said. "I was testing that. And you both have an unfair advantage."

It was clear that the two Werewolves treated Callum like a little brother with their teasing. In some ways, it reminded Mary Louise of her relationship with Valerie. Valerie had always treated her and Nora as if they were her younger sisters, and their relationship dynamic reflected that.

"You always make the most interesting things," Barron said as he briefly looked at the yo-yo, before tossing it back to Jonas.

"If you don't give it back, I won't make anything ever again," Callum stated matter-of-factly, but to the Werewolves, it came off as cute, which caused them to chuckle.

"If you want it, you have to get it," Jonas teased. He held the yo-yo out, while Callum looked at it, trying to plan his move. The moment Callum moved toward it, Jonas threw it back toward Barron.

As the yo-yo was in mid-air, it took an unexpected turn, and landed right in Mary Louise's hand.

"That's not fair!" Barron and Jonas said in unison.

"Home Girl to the rescue," Callum said as Mary Louise handed the yo-yo back to him.

Sage and Nora walked into the kitchen at the same time.

"Where is breakfast, boys?" Sage asked noticing that nothing had been done.

"What would you like to have?" Jonas asked.

"I can make waffles, pancakes, eggs—you name it," Barron added.

Nora noticed Jonas flash his eyes at Barron. They were both trying to impress Sage, and still Sage appeared to be oblivious, or acting as if she were.

"You boys aren't going to be making anything in my kitchen," Cynthia's voice rang as she walked into the kitchen. "Remember last time?"

Sage let out a laugh, before she explained to Nora and Mary Louise that once they had tried to make an extravagant breakfast and nearly burnt the house down.

Nora and Mary Louise exchanged a brief glance, remembering their 133rd anniversary breakfast, where Nora was taken off pancake duties as her chocolate chip pancakes started to smoke.

"I'll make eggs," Cynthia decided. "Barron and Jonas can help by cutting up the vegetables and buttering the toast."

The rest of them decided to pitch in as well, from making coffee, to cracking eggs, cutting up vegetables, putting the toast on a plate, to setting up the table—it was a nice bonding moment as they all shared stories and laughed heavily at the most random things.

Adam had now appeared at the kitchen doorframe.

"Sorry, were we too loud?" Cynthia asked once she noticed her husband.

Adam smiled; it made him happy to see everyone like this. "Not for me, but for the door."

"There was someone at the door?" Sage asked.

Adam nodded his head before looking directly at Mary Louise. "Victoria would like to speak with you. She's in the den."

Nora quickly looked over at Mary Louise, whose smile had disappeared.

"If you don't want to speak with her, I can tell her to leave," Adam said.

Mary Louise was quiet, and then she said, "No. I'll speak with her."

* * *

VICTORIA was sitting on the white couch in the den with her hands clasped together. She looked nervous, and as their eyes made contact, a small smile appeared on her face.

Mary Louise's expression remained stone cold, her eyes still showing hurt from their last conversation.

"I deserve that," Victoria said once the smile wasn't returned. She looked back down at her hands.

Mary Louise crossed her arms. "Why are you here?"

Victoria didn't look back up at Mary Louise. "I needed to talk to you. About yesterday."

"I don't think there is anything more we can talk about," Mary Louise answered sharply, which caused Victoria to flinch.

Victoria looked back at Mary Louise. There were tears in her eyes. "I said some awful things," She started to say. "And I wish I didn't react the way I did. But you have to understand—this is new for me."

Mary Louise resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Victoria had been on this earth for over a century and had seen it grow, change and evolve—it was hard to believe that she was the very first gay person Victoria had ever encountered.

"I just started thinking about our time together when we were younger, and I started to question things."

Mary Louise raised an eyebrow as she uncrossed her arms.

"Were you in love with me?"

Mary Louise blinked, but her facial expression told Victoria the answer.

Victoria got up from the couch and stood in front of Mary Louise. "I'm sorry I said those things to you. Last night I kept replaying my words over and over again, and I realized how awful I was."

Victoria grabbed Mary Louise's hand. "I am so sorry for what I said. Even after everything I found out about you now, you are still the same Mary Louise that I grew up with, and who I love dearly. Nothing will ever change that, and I can't believe I thought it would."

Victoria pulled Mary Louise into a hug.

"I hope you'll forgive me," Victoria whispered into Mary Louise's ear before she parted from the hug and made her way toward the door.

Mary Louise couldn't move. She had not been expecting Victoria to do her version of an apology, and she wasn't sure exactly how she felt about anything that had just happened. The only thing she knew was that Nora had been right. Victoria had come around.

* * *

LUTHER poured himself a glass of scotch, as the door to his study opened.

"Where are the boys?" Luther asked. He didn't even have to look at who was entering, for he recognized the footsteps.

"Out. They deserve to have a life outside of the Order," Margret answered.

Luther slightly nodded his head. "I know I have been hard on them lately, but someone needs to take my place when I am gone. Who better than our own sons?"

"I do not disagree," Margret said as she walked up behind Luther and placed her hands on his shoulder. "You seem tense."

"I have a lot on my mind."

"The news of our daughter being alive troubles me as well," Margret said, but there was something in her voice when she said that which caused Luther to face her.

"I think it troubles you for different reasons."

Margret's face fell. "I grieved our daughter long ago, but I just need to see her. One last time."

"Is that what you wish?" Luther asked.

Margret nodded her head.

"If that is what you wish, my love, I'll see what I can do."

Margret smiled, both leaning in for a kiss. As they parted, Margret said, "Thank you, my love."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** A big thank you to those who read and review this story. I truly appreciate you following along while I practice my writing skills. As always, I hope I am writing something worth reading, and grow in my writing skills with each chapter. You guys are the best.

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY**

NORA stepped outside into the courtyard, desperately needing fresh air after she saw Mary Louise follow Victoria out the front door. With her fists clenched, she cursed herself for being right. She knew Victoria would eventually come groveling back to Mary Louise, she just hadn't thought it would be so soon—when the wounds were still fresh, and Mary Louise so quick to forgive.

There weren't many people that rubbed Nora the wrong way, but Victoria got under her skin, and stayed there like a parasite that whispered doubt in her ear. Sometimes she wondered if she was the only one who had felt cynical towards Victoria. Anytime she tried broaching the topic to the others, she always stopped herself. She feared she would come across as jealous, even though she had no real reason to be, especially after last night. The way Mary Louise had made love to her; it was as if she was the only girl in the entire universe. Their night of passion affirmed for Nora that her heart and body belonged only to Mary Louise, and that Mary Louise's heart and body belonged only to her.

But still, the whispers infested the back of her mind, doubting the moments she had with Mary Louise. Was Mary Louise with _her_ when they were together? Or was her mind somewhere else—on someone else?

Nora shook her head, trying to get that thought from her mind. She was being paranoid, but there was just something about Victoria that brought out all her insecurities.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Nora turned around to see Sage slowly making her way over to her.

"I mean, if you don't that's cool—I just saw that you looked upset."

Nora hadn't realized she had been projecting her emotions, but the more she thought of Sage's offer, the more she realized she could use a friend.

"Is it that obvious?" Nora asked as she made her way over to the water fountain and sat down on the stone ledge.

Sage tried to think of the right words to say as she joined Nora, but nothing she could think of came across as anything but blunt.

"I'll take your extended silence as a 'yes'," Nora answered.

"I'm sorry," Sage said. "I wasn't trying to be so straightforward about it."

Nora understood. "It's alright. Even Mary Louise noticed I wasn't too fond of Victoria."

"I don't blame you," Sage began to say, "for not being fond of Victoria. I would be too if I were in your situation."

Nora turned to face Sage. Since she had arrived at the Sanctuary, she had been slowly getting to know the people. Sage had been an interesting study, and one of the hardest to dissect personality wise. In some ways, Sage reminded Nora of Bonnie Bennett. She was funny, beautiful, smart, and caring. Maybe even a little bit of a hopeless romantic, as evident by her love for that ungodly Twilight series. She was powerful for a Witch, and even though they both came from different Covens, she could relate to Sage's struggle of being an outcast. It was no wonder why Jonas and Barron admired this woman.

"Have you ever been in love?" Nora asked, which caused Sage to laugh.

"I thought we were talking about you."

"I'm curious."

Sage looked at Nora before a long exasperated sigh escaped from her lips as she turned her head away. "Once."

Nora cocked her head, and with a raised eyebrow she asked, "That's all you are going to tell me? I thought you were going to distract me from my woes."

"It's not even worth telling." Sage looked back at Nora, who was giving her her version of a puppy dogface. "But, because I think you'll probably compel me to tell the story, I fell in love when I was in college, with a man named Jonathan.  
"There was nothing special about him. He wasn't a vampire, or a werewolf—he wasn't even a Witch. He was just ordinary, in that extraordinary way, you know?"

Nora nodded her head, urging Sage to continue.

"Well, I guess you can figure out what happened next. We fell in love, and it was fine until my Coven said I was to marry someone I did not love, or did not want to marry. My Coven forgave me for my transgression for dating an outsider; so long I was to merge two Covens through a marriage that was planned since my birth in two years time."

"That must have been awful," Nora commented.

"It was. But the worst was when they threatened to harm him if I didn't go along with what they wanted—you know how it is—so I ended things with him and it broke my heart.  
"Those two years went by fast and slow at the same time, and the closer it got to the date I was arranged to be married, the more hesitant I got. The night before I was to marry, I told my family and my Coven that they would see me dead before I went through with this. They kicked me out instead, to fend for myself with nothing. If Cynthia and Adam hadn't found me, God knows where I would be now."

"What ever happened to Jonathan?"

"After I got out of the Coven, I went to find him. He's married now. Has a baby. He is happy." There was a long pause. "Still, it wasn't as epic as what you have with Mary Louise."

For a beat, Nora felt sad for Sage that her view on love was so narrow. Love shouldn't be measured by the length of time two people have been together. There are many people who spend their whole lives together out of obligation to children or a sense of duty—even though they had fallen out of love many years before. Love should be about the feeling. Even if it is short lived, if it was nothing but magnificent there was no point to it.

Nora's relationship with Mary Louise was far from perfect. They argued, rarely saw eye-to-eye, broke up and said terrible things to each other out of hurt. But as hard as they fought, they loved even harder. It was the small moments she cherished with Mary Louise the most—like slow dances and gentle kisses. She wouldn't deny that what she had with Mary Louise was special. It was rare to find someone, even after 136 years together, that with just one glance, you could fall in love all over again.

"Anyway," Sage started to say. "What I meant to say is that I would be lucky if I found someone who looks at me half the way Mary Louise looks at you. Even with Victoria in the picture, she only has eyes for you."

Nora watched as Sage got up. It was nice to hear that someone else had noticed that Mary Louise looked at her the way she had always looked at her. It eased the doubtful whispers in her mind. Still, as she watched Sage return back to the Sanctuary, she wondered if Sage noticed the way Barron and Jonas looked at her, as if she were the only girl in their universe.

* * *

"VICTORIA, will you stop?" Mary Louise called out after Victoria as she followed her down the driveway. She could have easily used her vampire speed to get in front of her, but she didn't want to startle her.

Victoria abruptly stopped walking, and quickly spun around to face Mary Louise. "I said what I had to say. I want to give you some time to process the information."

Mary Louise had processed the information. She processed it in the seconds when her legs couldn't move to follow Victoria out the door. Last night she had come to terms with the fact that Victoria may not be okay with her sexuality, but now she was asking for her forgiveness. It seemed too sudden, and she wasn't going to allow her to walk away.

Mary Louise's voice was firm. "You can't just come into my home, say things to me, and then walk away. You want my forgiveness? We are going to talk about it."

Victoria opened her mouth to protest. This wasn't a side of Mary Louise she was used to seeing. The Mary Louise she knew was more passive and rarely questioned motives or actions. She accepted things as she was told. Victoria wondered if her newfound assertiveness had to do with her being a vampire, or her meeting Nora.

"I said my piece," Victoria answered. "What more can we talk about that won't be me repeating myself?"

"I'm curious," Mary Louise responded back. "This sudden change of heart—you were very adamant about me being a freak of nature less than twelve hours ago."

Guilt showed on Victoria's face. "I was wrong to make you feel like that, and as I said, I am terribly sorry I said those things."

Mary Louise walked closer to Victoria. "Why did you say those things? It wasn't like you were banished by the Gemini Coven to spend almost a Century in a prison world where time didn't change.  
"You were alive to see the rise and fall of many things, and through all of that, _homosexuals_ were what surprised you? Even after the events that happened at Stonewall?"

Victoria was slightly taken aback, but Mary Louise was right. She had been alive to see history's turning points, and it wasn't like she was ignorant to the fact gay people existed, it was just a surprise that Mary Louise had been one of them.

"It was a lot to take in," Victoria finally said. "When you told me, all my memories of us came back and I began to see things differently. When I asked you if you were in love with me back then, you didn't answer, but your expression said 'yes.' Those memories of us changed _knowing_ you were in love with me that whole time."

"Is that what you are worried about?" Mary Louise asked. "That I still harbor those feelings for you?"

Victoria's face fell, and conflicting feelings wrestled in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know why it hurt to hear that Mary Louise was no longer in love with her. She would never admit it to Mary Louise but back then she had loved how Mary Louise doted on her. Mary Louise would drop everything in a heartbeat just to spend time with her, and she guessed that's what people in love do. Now, Mary Louise doted on Nora, and she was envious of that. She wanted Mary Louise back in her life. She wanted things the way they were back in the 1870's.

Victoria wasn't too fond of Nora, and she couldn't figure out how someone as kind hearted as the Mary Louise she knew, could fall in love with a girl that appeared to be as vain and self-absorbed as Nora. Maybe Mary Louise's options were limited back then, and even though she wouldn't be able to set Mary Louise up with a nice gentleman, she could still try and set her up with a lovely woman who would treat Mary Louise the way she deserved to be treated.

Victoria spoke. "I miss us. The way we were, when life appeared to be simpler. You were my rock, Mary Louise, my best friend. I want things to be the way they were."

Mary Louise swallowed. Time changes everything, and she wasn't sure if they could ever go back to a time where things appeared to be simple. She couldn't say she thought much about Victoria after she had ran off into the night back in 1877. However, if Victoria wanted to try to repair their friendship, she owed it to both of them to give it a try as well.

* * *

 _ **LONDON, 1882**_

NORA awoke to a gentle hand caressing her arm, and she wondered who had the audacity to wake her up from her dream where she was holding Mary Louise. In the nearly eleven months since Lily had forbidden them from being together, her dreams were her only solace—the only place where she could love and hold, and kiss Mary Louise freely. Even if it wasn't real, and even if she woke up from them missing Mary Louise terribly, those dreams were hers, and hers alone, and how dare anyone take those away from her too.

Nora's eyes adjusted to the dark, slowly making out the figure that had entered her room uninvited and disturbed her from her dream. In an ironic twist, the person who had disturbed her dream of Mary Louise was Mary Louise.

Concern immediately resonated with Nora as she quietly sat herself up in bed. In a hushed voice, Nora said, "Mare, what are you doing here? If Lily found out-"

"I can't do this anymore," Mary Louise interrupted in a bare whisper. "It's not fair that we can watch other members of our family find love or have one night affairs, while we have to live off of stolen glances."

Nora couldn't argue with Mary Louise there. It was a daily torture to watch the others find some sort of happiness, while they were dying on the inside, with every fiber of their being clawing to be held by each other.

They both knew the reasoning why Lily had separated them, but they did not agree. Even on family outings, there were at least two family members between them at all times. And what made matters worse was that Lily truly believed they could be cured, even though they still showed no interest in any of the male vampire suitors their family tried to set them up with. In the end, all that was left was a trail of removed hearts, decapitated heads, and burned vampire bodies that they slaughtered in front of their family to illustrate a point that they were not interested. It had garnered the both of them the title of being ruthless.

"There's a train leaving in the early morning," Mary Louise said, her voice still low as to not wake the others. "We can be on our own, and not have to worry about what we do in the privacy of our own home."

Nora thought about Mary Louise's proposition, and she could tell by Mary Louise's voice that she knew it was a big risk and was willing to take it anyway. If things didn't work out with them, they would be back to being alone, with no family, no friends, nothing. In some ways, that idea was frightening. In other ways, being here and not being able to be with the woman she loved was just as isolating.

Mary Louise spoke again. "That poem you used to read to me daily when we first got together"—

"The Passionate Shepherd to His Love," Nora answered. It was her favourite poem.

Mary Louise took a deep breath, extending her hand. " _Come live with me and be my love, and we will all the pleasures prove_."


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE**

 _ **LONDON, 1882**_

THE train station wasn't much further, and if they were lucky enough, they would be on the train before their family even knew they were gone. It was a bittersweet moment to leave everyone behind, and for a moment, Mary Louise was certain that Nora would not follow her. She had asked Nora to make an impossible decision, one that she herself had spent numerous sleepless nights contemplating over. But as she briefly glanced back at Nora, who wore the biggest smile on her face, she knew she had made the right decision. She only wished her family could understand that what they have was the exact same thing Lily and Julian have, which is love; in it's purest form.

"Where do you think this train will take us?" Nora asked.

Mary Louise wasn't entirely sure, but the mystery of where the two would end up was alluring. She imagined them getting a quaint little home, where it would just be the two of them. Of course, they could never show physical affection in public, but behind closed doors, they wouldn't be able to keep their hands off each other.

Nora grabbed Mary Louise's arm. "You know what, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that we are together."

Mary Louise smiled, and after eleven months she was genuinely happy. "I suppose we should find the conductor and compel him to get us a seat on this train."

"Can I do the honors?" Nora asked. "I do love compelling people."

"Of course, My Love. Anything you wish."

They both stared at each other, desperately wanting to kiss, but knowing they couldn't, not out in public, anyway.

They were Heretics, the true definition of the word. And finally, their lives were about to begin. _Together._

* * *

MARY LOUISE found Nora in the library; reading one of the many books Adam had collected over the years. Nora didn't seem to notice that she was standing there, but she didn't care. It gave her an opportunity to observe her girlfriend in this new world.

Sometimes Mary Louise regretted how hesitant she had been to embrace the 21st Century, something Nora did with ease. Nora appeared unfazed by all the technological advances, and seemed eager to learn everything and anything about the 21st Century. She was fearless, and easily left the Prison World behind, catching up on 110 years of history in a span of a couple of weeks.

Mary Louise didn't understand why she couldn't adjust as quickly as the others. Even Beau, Malcolm, Oscar and Valerie had embraced the modern world, and she fell behind, unable to catch up. She was frightened that her relationship with Nora wouldn't be able to survive the change, and she had been right—to a point. Nora had every opportunity to find someone else when they broke up, and still she had come back to her, even when she felt like she didn't deserve it. She hoped that Nora could see that this time around she was really trying hard to find her place in this century.

Nora glanced up from her book, noticing Mary Louise. She wondered how long she had been standing there, but that didn't matter.

"What are you reading?"

As Nora closed the book she said, "A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I didn't get a chance to read it when it was first published. It makes me miss that time."

Mary Louise nodded her head. There were things about the 1800s she missed as well. But the more she got to know this century, the more she realized she would never be able to have the life she has now back then.

"How did your talk go with Victoria?" Nora asked. She wanted to sound engaged in her girlfriend's life, but for some reason she could taste the jealousy on her lips.

Thankfully Mary Louise didn't seem to catch on to it, and she merely shrugged as she sat down next to Nora at the large oak table.

"As can be expected, I guess," Mary Louise answered. "Victoria was never one to be straightforward about anything."

"Victoria sounds more confusing than an Iphone," Nora mumbled under her breath, which caused Mary Louise to chuckle.

"Maybe you can make sense of her," Mary Louise responded. "You seem to grasp this Century easily."

Nora grabbed Mary Louise's hand in hers. Her voice became low, seductive. "Or maybe, I can just kiss you instead."

Mary Louise savored the feeling of Nora's lips on hers. Sometimes she wondered how she ever got so lucky to end up with someone like Nora.

* * *

CALLUM made his way into the kitchen for a late night snack. The others were in the living room, watching one of Sage's favourite movies, Pretty Woman. Callum had already been forced to watch that movie more times than he thought necessary, so he decided to sit this time out.

Reaching into the cupboard he pulled out a box of Lucky Charms, and then made his way over to the fridge and grabbed the milk. At that point, he decided he would just grab everything in one go, before dropping it on the kitchen island, and grabbed a bowl and a spoon. He quickly prepared his snack, turned on the T.V. Cynthia had in the kitchen, just by the stove, and sat down on one of the stools. He simultaneously began to eat his cereal and flip through the channels, until he found something that was worth his attention.

He stopped on one of the late night news channels that was flashing a breaking news report. There was nothing really remarkable about the breaking news. There was a fire in the middle of a field. Fire fighters got it under control, and were now investigating as to whether it was deliberate or the result of dry grass and no moisture. Callum almost turned the channel, but stopped when an overhead shot from the news helicopter revealed a marking in the field.

An eerily familiar marking.

Callum's eyes widened, recognizing the mark of the Veiled Coven they had been chasing. Without a second thought, he ran out of the kitchen and into the family room. They didn't seem to notice he was there until he grabbed the remote from the coffee table, and began to fumble with it as he began to change the channel.

"Hey!" Sage exclaimed. "We were watching that!"

Callum ignored her, and Mary Louise, who was cuddling with Nora on the couch, noticed something was off.

"Is everything alright?" She asked.

"See for yourselves," Callum answered as he stopped on the news channel. The seven of them saw what was making Callum so distressed. The Veiled Coven had struck again.

"Was anyone hurt?" Cynthia asked.

"They didn't say," Callum answered. "It appears to be random."

"Or someone wanting our attention," Nora added. "We've run into this group enough. It's clearly a message."

Adam stood up. "And most likely a trap."

"We've handled Cyrus before," Barron reminded.

"Besides, they clearly want us to come. If we don't, they could retaliate with something much worse," Nora added.

Adam looked at Cynthia. They both knew this was a bad idea.

Jonas noticed their concern. "It will just be the five of us. We can handle it."

Adam knew that no matter what he said, they would go regardless. But they were right. They were more than capable of handling themselves and had proven it time and time again. Still, he viewed these people as his children, and he cared deeply for every one of them.

"Please be careful," Adam finally said as the five of them got up from the couch.

Nora paused in front of Adam and gave him a small, reassuring smile. They would all be returning home tonight.

* * *

BY the time the five of them got to the site, the reporters, police, and firefighters were gone. The only thing that remained was the calling card of the Veiled Coven, burnt in the middle of the field.

Mary Louise crouched down, placing her hand on a section of the burnt grass. A spell was used to create this symbol, and she began to siphon some of the magic from it.

Sage watched in awe as Mary Louise siphoned, her hand glowing red as she absorbed the magic. Siphoners intrigued Sage, because they were exclusive only to the Gemini Coven. Her own Coven had spoke of Abominations from the Gemini Coven, who possessed no power of their own, but could only siphon from a source. Adam had once explained it was most likely caused by a rare genetic mutation, most likely from the practice of merging two twins down the ancestral line. If she were to be turned into a vampire, she would lose her ability to practice magic, but Nora and Mary Louise, and any other Siphoner turned, were somehow able to keep their siphoning ability, and used their vampirism to generate an endless supply of magic to siphon from themselves. It was nothing short of fascinating.

"I don't think anyone is here," Jonas said as he scanned the open field.

Mary Louise stood back up, a look of disappointment crossing her face. She wanted to kill people.

"Maybe we are early?" Sage suggested and then frowned. "Or late?"

Barron breathed in the night air. "I don't know if it's just me and my wolf senses, but I am getting a bad feeling about this."

"You're not the only one," Nora added, keeping her guard up.

"Cyrus, you big bully, show yourself!" Jonas called out into the night.

"I don't think that is going to work," Sage said.

Jonas was about to respond when from mid air Cyrus suddenly appeared from a cloaking spell, with a devilish smirk on his face, startling the five of them.

"Ask and you shall receive," Cyrus said, as the five of them grouped closer together.

"We got your message," Barron said. "What do you want from us?"

Cyrus cackled. "What everyone wants. The five of you: dead."

Now it was Jonas's turn to laugh. "You and what army?"

The moment Jonas said that, ten Veiled Coven members appeared behind Cyrus from a cloak.

"Let's just say I have come more prepared this time around," Cyrus added as ten more appeared from behind a cloak, and then another ten, and another ten, until they were completely surrounded and encircled.

Jonas and Barron transformed into their wolf selves.

"There has to be at least a hundred here," Nora said. There was no way they could fight all these veiled members.

Cyrus laughed again. "As I said, I came prepared."

The five of them exchanged looks. They knew they were screwed.

Mary Louise looked at Nora. There were still so many things she wanted to say and do with her. She wasn't ready for this to be an end.

Cyrus sighed happily. "I just love it when I finally get rid of pests." He looked at the veiled coven members. "Kill them."

The Coven members began to chant, and whatever they were saying caused Sage, Nora, and Mary Louise to fall to the ground in pain.

Jonas and Barron rushed over to the girls, with concern. Whatever they were chanting was affecting witches. They watched as the chant began to generate a white orb from the members, aimed directly at them. This was it. This was how they were going to die.

They closed their eyes, bracing for impact, still hearing the sound of Nora, Sage, and Mary Louise crying out in pain.

* * *

WHEN Barron and Jonas opened their eyes, two things became abundantly clear. One, they were no longer in the middle of a field, and two, the screams of pain had stopped.

"What happened?" Nora managed to say as she slowly picked herself up from the ground, taking in her new surroundings. "Where are we?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Barron said as he helped Mary Louise up from the ground. "I for sure thought we were all goners."

Sage looked at Nora and Mary Louise, wondering if by some miracle they had managed to teleport the five of them away, but they were looking at her the way she was looking at them, so there was someone else who had intervened.

"We should figure out where we are," Jonas said, and by the looks of it, they traded an open field for an abandoned parking lot.

"Do not be alarmed," A male voice rang out from the shadows. "You are safe now."

Nora watched as five figures emerged from the shadows. There were four men, and one woman. Three of the men looked close in age, while the fourth one had at least thirty years, if not more. on the three. The woman was closer in age to the elder man, and she had looked familiar, as if Nora had seen her somewhere before, but she couldn't quite pinpoint where.

"Thank you for saving our lives," Barron said.

"We would have been dead if it wasn't for you guys," Sage added. "So thank you."

The Elder man smiled. "It was my pleasure to help. After all, this is a happy coincidence." The Elder man looked directly at Mary Louise. "Isn't that right, daughter?"


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:** I cannot thank everyone enough for your support and comments as I continue to write this story. You guys are the reason I keep writing, and your reviews mean a lot to me. So, thank you.

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO**

NORA quickly turned to face Mary Louise, and immediately noticed how stiff she was, as if she was in a state of shock. Mary Louise was shaking, and her mouth was slightly agape, as if she was unable to process the people she was seeing.

"Forgive our rudeness," Luther said. "I should introduce myself. My name is Luther, this is my wife, Margret, and our sons, Ephraim, Samuel and Noah."

"My name is Jonas, and that's Barron, Sage, Nora, and"—

"Mary Louise," Margret said with a smile as she cut off Jonas. Her eyes filled with happy tears. "I never thought I'd see you again."

Nora kept her eyes on Mary Louise. By the look on her face, Mary Louise hadn't been expecting to see them either.

Margret took a step forward, which caused Mary Louise to take a step back. Nora noticed her girlfriend was terrified, with good reason too. These people had abused her relentlessly. At least Nora didn't have to deal with any surprise visits from her family members—she was there when Malcolm had killed them all.

Nora took a protective step in front of Mary Louise. She didn't know how or why they were here, but she wouldn't allow them to hurt Mary Louise, not again. Not on her watch.

Jonas, Barron and Sage quickly noticed that this wasn't a regular family reunion. There was over a century worth of history that they didn't know about.

Mary Louise's eyes wandered over to Ephraim. Aside from her father, he frightened her the most. He was malicious and vindictive, and always got what he wanted. Samuel and Noah adored him, and they were quick to follow his lead. When Mary Louise had become a vampire, she was able to turn her humanity on and off. Years of abuse and imprisonment had left her bitter towards humanity, so she embraced the darkness that came with being a vampire. The Canes, Callum, Sage, Jonas, Barron and Nora had showed her humanity was not something to fear, or hide away. But for Ephraim, it was like his humanity simply wasn't there.

Margret appeared hurt over Mary Louise's resistance. "I was hoping we could talk…"

Mary Louise felt numb, and began to tune out the conversation that was happening around her. Barron's voice blended in with Sage's, and Sage's voice blended in with Margret's, to the point where it became white noise to her. These people shouldn't be here. Her nostril's flared. She needed to get out of here, and without so much as a word; she used her vampire speed to run away.

It took Nora a moment to register Mary Louise was gone. This had become a habit, but this time she couldn't blame Mary Louise for running away. If she had been in that situation, she would have too.

"Where did Mary Louise go?" Luther asked.

That was a good question. Nora had no idea, but their best bet was to check the Sanctuary. Witches didn't have super speed, but the two werewolves seemed to understand that it was time to run.

Jonas quickly scooped up Sage, and left with Nora in a blur, leaving only Barron behind.

"I'm sorry," Barron said. "Long night. Thanks again for saving us." He quickly nodded his head, and just like that he was gone.

Ephraim smiled wickedly. "Well, I guess we can say that went according to plan."

Luther turned to Margret, who looked as if she had conflicting feelings about what they were doing. He had a feeling that seeing Mary Louise would be difficult for his wife, and he had been right. After all, she was her mother. But their daughter was an abomination, a Siphoner. And now, she was a vampire, which was an affront to nature. He knew his wife just needed time to see what the rest of them did. But, as of now, they needed to gain Mary Louise's trust, and when the time was right, they would kill her and everyone she cared about.

* * *

WHEN the four of them arrived back at the Sanctuary, Adam, Cynthia, and Callum were still in the living room, waiting.

Callum was the first to notice them, and a sigh of relief escaped his lips.

"How did it go? Is Cyrus dead?" Callum asked.

Barron shook his head. "We were ambushed. Cyrus brought a hundred Coven members with him this time. We were surrounded."

Cynthia shot up from the couch, her face showing concern. "How did you fight them all off?"

"We didn't," Jonas answered. "We were saved, by Mary Louise's family."

"Her family?" Adam asked out of confusion. "They are still alive?"

Sage nodded her head. "It would appear so."

Callum just noticed Mary Louise wasn't with them. "Where is Mary Louise?"

Nora's eyes widened. "She didn't come back here?"

"No," Cynthia answered. "Wasn't she with you guys?"

"She ran away from them," Jonas said. "We assumed she would come back here."

"Where else would she have gone?" Adam asked while looking directly at Nora. If anyone knew her patterns and behavior it was Nora.

Nora tried to think of any place she might go. After a long moment, worry crossed her face, and in a whisper she said, "Oh no."

* * *

VICTORIA opened the door to her home to see Mary Louise standing outside. She hadn't been expecting to see her friend, but it was a happy surprise.

"Mary Louise, this is a pleasant"—Victoria was cut off by Mary Louise, who had gripped her throat and pushed her inside.

Mary Louise's brows were furrowed, gripping Victoria's neck tighter as she pushed her against the wall. Her voice was low and filled with anger. "You knew."

Victoria struggled against Mary Louise, but she was too strong. If Mary Louise squeezed any tighter, she would crush her windpipe.

Victoria had seen Mary Louise in action as a vampire, but this version she was witnessing now petrified her. It was as though her friend had disappeared, and what remained was a cold, ruthless, unsympathetic vampire.

Victoria struggled with her words, which caused Mary Louise to loosen her grip. "I…I don't know…what you are talking about…"

"Don't play coy with me," Mary Louise spat. "You know very damn well what I am talking about."

"I…don't…know…" Victoria responded, which caused Mary Louise to become angrier, and the veins below her eyes began to bulge while the sclera part of her eyes turned a blood red. She flashed her fangs.

Victoria swallowed hard seeing Mary Louise's true face up close. Her heart began to beat faster. This wasn't her friend.

"Mary Louise, please…" Victoria begged, tears streaming down her face. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Stop lying! Am I supposed to believe it is pure coincidence that both you and _those_ people have found a way for immortality?"

Victoria was still distracted by Mary Louise's true face, but now she knew what she was talking about. She had seen her family.

"Please, Mary Louise, you have to believe me, I didn't know they would find"—

Mary Louise gripped Victoria's neck harder. "You knew what they did to me, you should have told me!"

"Mare!" Came Nora's voice, which caused her to spin around to see Nora, Barron and Jonas in the doorway of Victoria's home.

Mary Louise's face turned back to normal, and she spun around to face Victoria, and quickly let her go, taking several steps back. Her anger had gotten the better of her.

Victoria rubbed her neck, the shock of Mary Louise almost killing her still fresh in her mind. "Just go."

Mary Louise stood frozen in Victoria's foyer, not knowing why she had lost control like that.

Nora grabbed Mary Louise's hand and dragged her out of Victoria's home.

"I almost killed her," Mary Louise whispered as they headed back to the Sanctuary, still in a state of shock. "I almost killed Victoria."


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE**

NORA was sitting at the edge of their bed, holding Mary Louise in her arms as she cried. There was nothing she could say that would make the pain Mary Louise was feeling go away.

"I almost killed her," Mary Louise said in between sobs.

Nora stroked Mary Louise's hair. "But you didn't."

Mary Louise sat up so she was facing Nora. "I was so close, Nora. If you hadn't come"—

Nora cupped Mary Louise's face in her hand, using her thumbs to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"She'll never forgive me," Mary Louise said.

"She can't blame you. I would be angry as well if someone important from my past kept the fact that my parents were alive from me. They tortured you, Mare. She knew that."

Mary Louise sighed. "When I ran away in 1877, I thought that would be the last time I would see them."

"I know," Nora said as she removed her hands from Mary Louise's face. Before they had begun dating, they would tell each other stories about their families and covens. Nora's family had turned on her almost instantaneously once they found out she was a Siphoner, and went straight for the kill. She only had to endure a couple of hours of their abuse before Malcolm saved her, but Mary Louise was tortured for weeks on end before she escaped. That alone is enough to change any person. Top it off with being a vampire, and you have recipe for no self-control.

Nora could hardly fault Mary Louise for her actions. It seemed oddly suspicious that six people from Mary Louise's past had secured immortality. But that wasn't important at this very moment.

"I'm sorry," Mary Louise said, suddenly feeling embarrassed for her behavior. "I don't think you anticipated coddling me the whole night."

Nora rolled her eyes. "Don't apologize for that. Ever."

Mary Louise smiled. "Thank you for saving me tonight. I don't know what I would do without you."

Nora stood up and gave Mary Louise a long kiss on the top of her forehead. If she were being honest, she wouldn't know what to do without Mary Louise either.

* * *

 _ **LIVERPOOL, 1882**_

IT had been almost four weeks since Mary Louise and Nora had run away from their family. In that time, they had explored different parts of England, starting at Plymouth, to Wales, and finally settling, for about a week now, in Liverpool. They would be boarding the train again shortly, heading toward Manchester, and then, once they were bored of that, they would head to Leeds, and then Edinburgh. If they were feeling adventurous, they would cross into Scotland. After that, they really hadn't thought that far ahead, but they could always get on a boat and head to Europe. Regardless, it was a grand adventure for both of them, and they loved every minute.

They took their seats on the still empty, 'women and children only' train cart, having compelled yet another Conductor to let them on board. Nora loved to compel people, and Mary Louise loved watching Nora compel.

There was excitement on Nora's face as she turned toward Mary Louise. "What do you think Manchester will be like?"

"I'm sure it will be lovely, with lots of people to eat."

They smiled mischievously at each other.

"You have no idea how badly I ache to kiss you right now," Nora said.

Mary Louise had a feeling, for she ached to kiss Nora as well. "In due time, My Love."

Nora sighed in frustration. "When we finally have privacy, I'm going to shower you with a rainstorm of kisses."

Mary Louise blushed. "I can't wait."

They looked into each other's eyes, their hearts starting to beat faster, but knowing they still couldn't do anything about it. Sometimes they both wondered to themselves how it was possible to love someone as much as they loved each other.

Nora sighed again, her eyes scanning the empty train cart. "Where is everybody? Why aren't we moving?"

Mary Louise pulled out her pocket watch and looked at the time. The train should have left ten minutes ago. "Maybe they are having troubles?"

"But what about the other people? Surely we can't be the only ones on this train?"

"You aren't," A familiar voice said from behind, causing Mary Louise and Nora to turn around to see Lily Salvatore standing in the back of the train.

Nora and Mary Louise exchanged panicked looks.

Lily slowly approached the two of them. "Hello, girls. I was hoping we could talk."

* * *

VICTORIA walked with a purpose through the hall, her fists clenched in anger as she opened the door to the Study, disrupting late night tea.

"You assured me that I could handle this," Victoria said with anger in her voice, which caused Luther, Margret, Ephraim, Samuel and Noah to look up from their activities.

"Victoria," Luther began to say, "what brings you here?"

"You know why I am here," Victoria said, a sense of déjà vu washing over her. "You weren't supposed to show yourselves to Mary Louise."

Ephraim scoffed. "Are you questioning The Order?"

Victoria took a deep breath. "Of course not. But, just so you are aware, after your encounter with your daughter, she came over to my house and almost killed me."

Luther raised both his eyebrows before putting his teacup back down on the coaster. This was an interesting turn of events.

"She went full on vampire with me, and now I'll have to work extra hard to gain her trust back."

"We are glad to hear that you will be taking the proper steps in moving the plan forward," Noah said.

"This event could set us back," Victoria reminded. "What would have happened if she were to kill me?"

Samuel crossed his legs. "But she didn't. Besides, if Mary Louise still has any of her humanity after being turned, I am sure she feels extremely guilty of how she reacted."

"And, we all know the stakes you have for this mission to succeed," Ephraim added.

Victoria took a deep breath. "I will repair the damage as best I can. However, I think we should focus our attention elsewhere."

"What do you propose?" Margret asked.

"I know Mary Louise's weakness. And I am not talking about her physical weakness," Victoria answered.

Luther nodded his head. "Yes, Cyrus has told me about the people she has been living with over these last few months."

"We already plan on killing those people," Samuel added.

"Spare the humans, the wolves, and the witch" Victoria said. "She cares for them, yes. But she will get over their deaths. You want her to suffer? You kill the vampire only."

Noah smiled. "Ah, yes, the vampire. She has been with Mary Louise the longest, hasn't she?"

"Yes," Victoria answered.

"And what makes you think killing her vampire friend, Nora, will make her suffer? I am sure she could move on just as easily," Margret reminded.

"I would be inclined to agree with you," Victoria answered. "However, Nora isn't just a friend. She is in love with her."

The room suddenly fell silent, and the family exchanged looks.

"What do you mean she is in love with Nora?" Luther asked.

"Exactly what I said. They kiss each other. They embrace each other. They sleep with each other. They do everything a man would do with a woman."

Ephraim's face contorted in disgust. "So not only is Mary Louise a Siphoner, and vampire, she is also a homosexual—a _dyke_."

Margret sat back in her chair, the news coming as a shock.

Victoria shifted. "All I am saying is if you want to really hurt Mary Louise, kill Nora."

Luther nodded his head, still processing the news that his daughter is gay. "Thank you for the information, Victoria. We will take what you said in mind. In the meantime, try and repair the relationship you have with Mary Louise. If you succeed in this task, The Order will reward you for your efforts."

* * *

VICTORIA left the Study, and made her way into the basement of The Order. She nodded to one member of the Veiled Coven, who was guarding the door, and as they stepped aside, she entered a room, where the familiar sound of several machines going greeted her. She had come into this room daily, mostly to visit her beloved, Thomas, who was the only one who didn't make it through the immortality ritual. Luther and his family had promised Victoria that if she did what they asked of her, they would bring him back.

A part of her didn't want to cause harm to Mary Louise. She still cared deeply for her friend. She did not always agree with how The Order went about things, but she just needed them to bring Thomas back. Once she was reunited with him, they would leave together. She hoped she would be able to take Mary Louise with her too, and in time she knew that Mary Louise would eventually get over Nora.

Victoria took a seat beside Thomas's bed, and grabbed his hand in hers. Some days she felt like she was being strung along by Luther and what appeared to be empty promises. Still, that didn't stop her from trying to revive him herself.

"Maybe I'll have to start taking matters into my own hands," Victoria whispered as she used her free hand to stroke Thomas's hair. "We'll be together again soon. It will just be like old times, with you, me and Mary Louise."


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N:** Thank you again for your kind reviews and continuing to follow this story, which is basically a love story to Noralise-*shakes fists in air angrily* curse you Plec and Co. Anyway, you guys are the best. Thank you.

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR**

 _ **LIVERPOOL, 1882**_

LILY Salvatore gave Mary Louise and Nora a small, reassuring smile as she slowly continued to approach them. She could tell they were not at ease, as they quickly got up from their seats and tried to retreat. Lily was no fool; she knew the two of them could easily end her within a blink of an eye. She may have been an older vampire, but she was dealing with Heretics, and they were far more powerful than any regular vampire.

Mary Louise was the first to speak. "How did you find us?"

"It wasn't easy," Lily answered. "I had Malcolm, Beau, Oscar, and Valerie do a locating spell. But we somehow always appeared to be too late."

Nora glanced at Mary Louise, before she turned her attention back to Lily. "All that trouble for us? I thought this is what you wanted."

Lily lowered her head in shame. She didn't look at the girls as she spoke. "I was wrong to react the way I did. When I found out you both had runaway, it forced me to confront my actions."

Nora appeared skeptical, but allowed Lily to continue to speak.

Lily finally looked up. "You have to understand, as a Mother, I worried. If people found out about your relationship, your lives would be in danger."

Mary Louise raised both her eyebrows. When she wanted to be, she could be vicious, and her words could be sharper than any vampire fangs. "From humans, or from you?"

Nora watched as Lily's face fell.

"That's fair," Lily said. "My reaction was no better than your families reaction to you being Siphoners. It was just a shock...to hear."

"So then why are you here?" Mary Louise asked.

Lily smiled, but her eyes were sad. "The house is quiet without you two. We miss you. I miss you."

A part of Nora felt bad for Lily. She was the closest person she had to a mother, and leaving her to be with Mary Louise was a decision she didn't take lightly. However, both her and Mary Louise now had a small taste of freedom to be who they are. If Lily wanted them to return home and go back to how it was before, it would be the same of depriving a vampire of blood.

"Lily," Nora said. Her voice was soft, a noticeable contrast to Mary Louise's earlier tone. "We can't go back. We won't go back."

Lily knew either Nora or Mary Louise would say that. And in their defense, she couldn't blame them. She wasn't lying when she told the girls that she had to reevaluate her actions.

"A lot has changed in the four weeks you two have been gone," Lily began to say. "We've moved, for one. We found a smaller place, but good enough to suit our needs. The empty Tavern was drawing too much attention."

Nora and Mary Louise exchanged a confused look.

Lily continued. "We packed all your belongings and put it in your room—the one you both share together."

"Together?" Nora repeated with surprise in her voice. She was certain she had misheard Lily.

"We all assumed you might have been sleeping together while on the run. If this isn't ideal for you both, there is an extra bedroom."

"You are going to allow _us_ to _sleep_ together?" Mary Louise reiterated.

Lily nodded. "As I said, the moment I found out you two had left together, it caused me to rethink everything. You both shouldn't have to change or hide who you are. It's us that need to change and accept that. And we have."

Both Nora and Mary Louise needed a moment to process what Lily had said. Not only did Lily want them to come home, she wanted them to come as a couple.

"I am truly sorry for how I reacted. You are my family, and I love you. I know it's a lot to ask, especially after what I have done. I fractured our family, and I just want it back."

Nora noticed tears escape Lily's eyes, and she knew it was genuine. After all, she could have easily replaced them and found two others to take under her wing. Instead, Lily had looked for them—something only a mother would do.

Nora looked over at Mary Louise. She too seemed to believe the sincerity in Lily's words. Everyone deserved a second chance, and even if it ended up being a broken promise, they could still run away together.

The two lovers held each other's gaze, both having an unspoken agreement about what to do with Lily's apology. After all, they were family, and maybe this would be a new beginning—a fresh start over. They could take not being open in public, but if they were allowed to be open in private, with people they cared about and who would accept them as a couple, it was worth the risk.

They both looked back at Lily, who looked a mixture of sad and nervous at what their answer might be, and they gave her a small smile. They both would be returning home with Lily.

* * *

VICTORIA, who was waiting in the foyer of the Sanctuary, caught a glimpse of Nora exiting one of the rooms from upstairs. She supposed she should thank the Vampire. If she hadn't come, she was certain that Mary Louise would have killed her.

As Nora came down the stairs, she looked over at Victoria, whose neck was bruised from Mary Louise's grip. Victoria gave her a small smile.

"Thank you for saving my life last night," Victoria said as soon as Nora reached the bottom.

It took every bone in Nora's body to not laugh in Victoria's face. Had this woman honestly believed she rushed over to save _her_? Nora's only motivation was Mary Louise, and she knew Mary Louise wouldn't be able to live with herself if her anger got the better of her.

"How did you know Mary Louise would be at my place?" Victoria asked.

Nora smirked. "It wasn't hard to put two and two together. After all, who else seemed to find a way of immortality?"

The smile on Victoria's face faded. She really despised Nora and her cocky attitude. She wondered how much longer she had to pretend to like her for Mary Louise's sake. All she had to do was plant a seed of doubt in Mary Louise's mind, and her insecurities would see it flourish. Without even knowing Nora, she could tell that she was the complete opposite of Mary Louise. Mary Louise was more conservative, and Nora was the exact opposite of that. Surely their conflicting personalities would cause some sort of contention in their relationship.

Mary Louise appeared at the top of the stairs, causing both Nora and Victoria to turn their attention to her. She appeared nervous and hesitant, as if she would run out the door any minute.

"Mary Louise," Victoria said. Her voice was soft and calm. "I was hoping we could talk"—she looked at Nora briefly before turning her gaze back at Mary Louise—"somewhere private."

* * *

VICTORIA and Mary Louise sat on the front porch in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Mary Louise couldn't stop staring at the bruises on Victoria's neck—the bruises she caused.

Mary Louise turned her head in disgust at what she had done. She couldn't look Victoria in the eyes.

Victoria took a breath. "I should have told you, and for that I am truly sorry."

Mary Louise turned her head slightly. If anyone should be apologizing, it should be her; after all, she had almost killed her last night.

"I knew what they had done to you in the past, and I should have taken that into consideration. But you have to believe me when I say they aren't the same people."

Mary Louise still didn't look at Victoria in the eye, and she found it hard to believe that her family had changed.

Victoria continued to speak. "After you ran away"—

"Escaped," Mary Louise corrected.

Victoria was a quiet for a moment. "After you _escaped_ , your family began to question The Gemini Covens view on Siphoners. They figured you might have been dead, and they defected from the Coven. Luther found a spell to extend a few who believed that the Gemini may have been wrong."

Mary Louise laughed. "I find it very hard to believe that him, out of all people, had a change of heart."

"Your mother was a strong influence for that. When she thought you might be dead, she lost it. She was crying non-stop for almost thirty years, even after they defected. The thought of never seeing you again destroyed her."

Mary Louise raised an eyebrow.

"Look, the reason why I am here is because I understand what happened last night. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that seeing them again probably brought back a lot of bad memories."

Mary Louise closed her eyes. Some days, the memories of the beatings she endured from her parents and brothers were so vivid it felt like they happened hours ago.

Victoria placed her hand on Mary Louise's, which caused her to open her eyes and look at Victoria. "I saw you were horrified at what you had done last night. But, you scared me, Mary Louise. I saw a different side of you, one that I didn't recognize. It was like my best friend was gone and there was someone completely different took over."

"I'm sorry I lost control," Mary Louise said.

"I know. And I want to look over this, and try to get back to how things were."

Mary Louise took a deep breath, sensing there was more coming from Victoria. She wasn't stupid, she knew Victoria too well to know there would be a condition to her forgiveness.

"Your mother would like to meet you for tea. It would be only her, and she asked me to ask you. If you want to prove to me that you are better than your vampire self, you'll go. She misses you, Mary Louise."

Mary Louise sighed. She wanted to make things right between her and Victoria, because what she did was unforgiveable. There was a time when she couldn't even imagine hurting Victoria.

It was just tea. How bad could it possibly be?


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE**

MARY LOUISE paused in front of the small café; pulling out a piece of crumpled paper from her purse—the one Victoria had given her the other day. According to Victoria's note, she was at the right café, and she was instructed to meet Margret here at 12:00pm in the afternoon. Mary Louise was already twenty minutes late. She had spent most of her morning debating whether or not to actually go, but the nagging in the back of her mind reminded her that she had promised Victoria she would—to show her she could be better than her vampire self.

Mary Louise took a deep breath and pulled the café door open and stepped inside. The café was quaint and modestly decorated. There were people sitting at the various tables. Some people were with human company, others on their phones or portable computers.

Mary Louise scanned the café, spotting Margret sitting in the back. She noticed Margret appeared to be staring absent-mindedly at her hands, which were clasped together on the dark wood table. Memories of Margret lashing her with a whip, as she screamed out in pain, flooded her brain. It would be so easy for her to rush over to Margret and pull her heart out, but that would just show Victoria that she wasn't in control, and she was trying so hard to redeem herself.

Taking another deep breath to work up the nerve, she slowly made her way into the back of the café. Margret noticed her, and a large smile crossed her face as she got up from her chair and hugged her daughter tightly.

Mary Louise was taken aback by the hug, and never returned it. Yet, at the same time, the hug felt comforting and familiar—like of a time before Margret found out she was a Siphoner.

Margret separated from the hug, her smile still large as she looked at her daughter. There were tears welling up in her eyes—happy tears.

"I didn't think you would come," Margret said as they both took a seat opposite each other at the small circular table.

"I wasn't sure I would come," Mary Louise answered, and the smile Margret was wearing suddenly disappeared.

"Well," Margret finally said, "I'm glad you did."

A Waitress came by, placing a teapot in the center of the table, along with teacups and milk, sugar. Margret smiled politely at the Waitress, before she was off to attend to another table.

Margret grabbed the pot and poured some tea in both their teacups. "I hope you don't mind I ordered us a Breakfast tea. I recall it being your favourite."

Mary Louise took a look at the orangey liquid. Since turning into a vampire, she began to acquire different tastes for human food. Most of the foods she enjoyed as a child, she now hated.

Margret frowned. "Oh dear. Maybe I should have asked if you could still eat human food."

"It's fine," Mary Louise said. "We can still eat and drink…it helps curb our hunger for what we really want."

Margret swallowed uncomfortably, knowing her daughter was referring to blood. "Anyway, what have you been up to for the last 130 years?"

"I'm so glad you asked," Mary Louise said in a fake cheerful tone. "After being tortured by my own family, I was on the streets for a year before some nice man took me to meet Lily and other members of the Gemini Coven who were cast out for being Siphoners as well."

Mary Louise noticed Margret getting more and more uncomfortable, and she knew she should have stopped, but she was having too much fun. "Lily turned me into a Vampire, and then were planning on killing the Gemini Coven, but they got to us first and trapped us into a prison world for 110 years, where we were desiccated for most of it."

Mary Louise went on to talk about Mystic Falls, the Armory, and her almost dying and how she finally ended up here.

"That's quite a story," Margret said, unable to look Mary Louise in the eyes. Part of her felt guilty that her daughter had suffered so much.

"What about you?" Mary Louise asked. "What have you been doing since 1877?"

"I'm sure Victoria told you we defected from the Coven, after we realized the mistake we made when we found out you were a Siphoner. We spent some time looking for you, and we figured you might be dead. I guess we were half right about that. Then, your father found a spell for immortality for those who defected with us. We've been travelling the world since."

Mary Louise took a sip of her tea. Margret's words sounded sincere, but part of her didn't believe them. As she put her cup down she asked, "So, why did you want to see me?"

Margret's mouth quivered slightly. "You're my daughter. My child. There hasn't been a day that has gone by since you ran away in 1877 that I haven't thought about you."

Mary Louise rolled her eyes. Her words were sharp, calculated—angry. "But you couldn't think about me as your daughter and child when you found out I was a Siphoner. When you all were lashing me for something that was out of my control. When I cried and begged for the pain to stop. When I was praying for my death that would not come."

Tears rolled down Margret's face. "I've done terrible things that I am not proud of. But you have to understand, we were so influenced by the Gemini Coven that they made us believe you were an abomination."

Margret paused, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I know you are hesitant to believe me. But we have changed. Your father, Ephraim, Samuel, and Noah—we do not hold those same views anymore. Watching this world evolve has opened our eyes to certain things. We want to make it up to you. Be a family again."

Mary Louise leaned back in her chair, wondering how exactly they planned on doing that. There was no way they could erase the months of abuse she had received at their hands.

"We would like you to come over for dinner tomorrow night," Margret said. "Victoria will be there, and we want you to bring your girlfriend, Nora."

Mary Louise shot Margret a surprised look.

"Don't be mad, but Victoria mentioned the two of you were a couple."

"We are," Mary Louise said quietly. "We've been together for almost 137 years."

Margret smiled. "I'm happy that you found someone. All of us are."

Mary Louise seemed confused. It was hard for her family to accept her as a Siphoner, and she for sure thought that they would disapprove her being a Lesbian as well.

"I know what you must be thinking," Margret said as she looked at her daughter's perplexed face. "If you had told me that you were gay back in 1870s, I probably wouldn't have taken it so well. But, I told you we have changed. There are some things a person is just born with."

Margret placed her hand on top of Mary Louise. "Please consider it. We would love both of you to come."

* * *

MARY LOUISE returned home an hour and a half later. She was surprised she had even stayed that long with Margret, but after the awkwardness had passed, they were able to have a decent conversation. The fact that she had not killed Margret proved it had been a somewhat successful afternoon.

The Sanctuary appeared to be quiet, too quiet, and she wondered where everyone was. It was a beautiful day, and she thought they might all be in the Court Yard, and she started to make her way toward the back.

"You're home," Came Cynthia's voice from behind, which caused Mary Louise to spin around. She noticed Cynthia was struggling to carry several boxes stacked on top of each other.

"Let me help you with those," Mary Louise said as she walked over to Cynthia.

"Thank you," Cynthia said as Mary Louise took a couple of boxes. "How was it?"

Mary Louise shrugged. "It was fine, I guess. She invited me over for dinner tomorrow…with Nora."

Cynthia raised both her eyebrows. "That's interesting. Are you going to go?"

Mary Louise shrugged again. "I'll ask Nora, but I haven't really given her an answer either."

Mary Louise followed Cynthia up the stairs and into her Master Bedroom. "Where is everyone?"

"Sage and Nora went to the mall. Jonas and Barron are out for a run. And Adam and Callum are at this science convention."

"So you're here by your lonesome?"

"You're here now," Cynthia said. "Besides, it gives me a chance to go through all my jewelry."

Mary Louise carefully placed the boxes down and began to look at the pieces of jewelry that were spread out on the bed. There had to be over a hundred thousand dollars worth of it.

Cynthia observed Mary Louise looking at the necklaces. She was kind of glad everyone was out of the house. It gave her a chance to finally be alone with Mary Louise. She had many opportunities to bond one-on-one with Sage, Barron, Jonas, Callum, and even Nora when they first got here. But because of Mary Louise's circumstance when she came into The Sanctuary, they just never had a time to be alone and talk freely.

Cynthia noticed Mary Louise look at the rings, something she looked longer at compared to the necklaces and earrings. "Can I ask you something personal?"

Mary Louise turned her attention to Cynthia. "Of course."

"Have you thought about marrying Nora?"

Mary Louise let out a small chuckle. "Would you believe me if I told you we were engaged twice?"

Cynthia seemed surprised. "You were?"

Mary Louise nodded. "I proposed on our 133 year anniversary. I was even given a better ring by Julian, a man I viewed as father figure. There was a situation involving Julian and one of our family members, and I chose to side with him over her, and Nora called off the engagement."

There was sadness in her voice as she continued, "Lily and Julian were linked together, and I had unlinked them in case her biological sons succeeded in killing Julian. She didn't know, and she staked herself in the heart thinking she would take him down as well. Nora and I broke up for some time after that."

"I'm sorry," Cynthia said.

Mary Louise gave her a small smile. "The second time, Nora proposed to me with a ring made of candy. But, within seconds we were tasered from behind by the Armory and separated for three years."

"Have you talked about it since?" Cynthia asked.

Mary Louise shook her head. "I sometimes have this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that maybe these are signs that we aren't meant to be together. Every time I want to talk about it, I get too nervous. I'm afraid that Nora might not want to marry me anymore."

Cynthia felt her heart break for Mary Louise.

"But still, I would love nothing more than to marry Nora."

"Hold that thought," Cynthia said and she made her way into her massive walk in closet. Mary Louise heard her shuffling through her things, and she was curious as to what Cynthia had gone to grab.

When Cynthia came back, she was holding a small black box in her hand. Mary Louise knew it was a ring box.

"Open it," Cynthia said as she handed the box to Mary Louise. Mary Louise looked hesitant, but she opened it to reveal a beautiful tiered ring, made from white gold. In the center was a light blue diamond, and beside it, slightly lower were two smaller clear diamonds, followed by even smaller diamonds that were placed halfway down the ring.

"This is gorgeous," Mary Louise said. She was completely captivated by it.

"It was my mother's," Cynthia began to say. "Unlike Adam, my family didn't come from money, and my father was in love with my mother on and off since high school. They had a lot of ups and downs, especially considering my Mother's parents disapproved of him because he couldn't give her everything."

Cynthia continued, "Anyway, they had been dating on and off for almost ten years, and one day he proposed to her with nothing but two promises: one, that he would love her until the day he dies, and two, that when he had enough money he would buy her a ring."

Mary Louise smiled. Being a hopeless romantic herself, the story reminded her of Nora proposing with the candy ring, and how that was good enough.

"My father worked hard, and he became successful and was able to provide for his family. And he did keep his promise. He did love my mother until the day he died, and on their 20th wedding anniversary, he proposed to her with that very ring. On their 21st anniversary, they renewed their vows."

"That's a beautiful love story," Mary Louise said as she closed the box and extended her arm to give it back to Cynthia. However she didn't take it.

"I want you to have it," Cynthia said, which caused Mary Louise to widen her eyes in surprise.

"No, I can't," Mary Louise protested.

"My mother was a believer in true love. She loved my father long after he passed, and when she died there was a smile on her face because she knew she was going to be with him again. She fought endlessly for people to marry the people they love, from interracial to same-sex marriage."

Cynthia gently grabbed Mary Louise's extended hand. "I have no use for this ring, Mary Louise. My mother and my father would want someone who loved as deeply as they loved each other to give it to the person they love. They would want you to give it to Nora."

Mary Louise hugged Cynthia in thanks, and Cynthia returned the hug.

"I don't know what to say," Mary Louise said, deeply touched by Cynthia's generosity.

Cynthia smiled. "When the time is right, you'll know exactly what to say."

* * *

SAGE found Nora looking at a jewelry store window. Her arms were full of various bags. The two of them had gone on a major shopping spree, and it felt as though they had cleaned almost all the stores out.

As Sage got closer to Nora, she noticed Nora was staring at a white gold, light green diamond ring, with small clear diamonds going down the middle. Sage noticed that the diamond almost matched Nora's eye colour.

"Oh. My. God," Sage said as she stood beside Nora.

Nora, who was so focused on the ring, hadn't noticed Sage had come back.

"Are you…are you planning on asking Mary Louise to marry you again?" There was excitement in Sage's voice.

"I don't know. We haven't talked about it, and since we haven't talked and all that has happened, what if she doesn't want to marry me anymore?"

Sage titled her head. "Nora, Mary Louise loves you. She would have married you when you gave her a Ring Pop."

"That was three years ago," Nora said. "And we didn't even see each other in that time. Things change…"

"Do you love her?" Sage asked.

"Of course I do. I love her more than anything in this world."

Sage watched as Nora turned her attention back to the ring that had her interest. She knew Nora loved Mary Louise, and she knew Mary Louise loved Nora.

"What are you doing?" Nora asked Sage, as Sage suddenly grabbed her arm and led her into the jewelry store.

A Saleswoman greeted them with a warm smile. "Good Afternoon ladies, what can I help you with today?"

"My friend here wants to enquire about the green diamond ring you have in your display window."

Nora shot Sage a disapproving glance.

The Saleswoman motioned for them to follow her. "Yes, one of our most popular engagement rings." She turned toward Nora. "What we recommend is having a close friend send a picture to the boyfriend and give him subtle hints at what ring you want."

"Actually," Sage said. "The ring is for her girlfriend. They have been together for a really, really long time."

"My apologies," The Saleswoman said. "And congratulations."

"Don't congratulate me yet, I am not even sure she'll say yes," Nora answered.

"Of course she will," Sage said. "How much is this ring?"

"It's four thousand dollars," The Saleswoman said.

"Four thousand!" Nora exclaimed.

Sage smiled at the Saleswoman. "Excuse us for a moment."

"Sage, are you nuts? I can't buy that," Nora said as Sage pulled her aside.

"Yes you can. Adam gave us money after our missions. You have more than enough."

Nora felt guilty. Somehow she felt like she didn't really earn that money as she had more fun killing the members of the Veiled Coven. It hardly felt like work.

"Look, you've clearly been staring at that ring for awhile while I was off buying things I don't really need. If you left this mall right now, would you regret not buying the ring?"

Nora sighed. She would regret it, and it would be on her mind. And Sage knew that.

"You buy it, we'll put a cloaking spell on it. Mary Louise won't know and then when you are ready, put a ring on her."

"And what if she says no?" Nora asked.

"If Mary Louise says no to marrying you, it will be a very cold day in Hell. Listen to me; what you have with Mary Louise is what everyone wants. True Love. You don't have to propose today, or tomorrow…but imagine a perfect opportunity comes up and guess what, you didn't listen to your dear friend Sage and missed an opportunity to ask the woman you have loved for over a century to marry her…again."

Nora sighed. She hated how right Sage was. This ring was simple and so Mary Louise. There might not be another ring like it.

Nora's heart suddenly began to race like it had when she picked up the candy ring at the gas station. She wanted to marry Mary Louise.

Nora caught the attention of the Saleswoman. "I'll take it."


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N:** Thank you again for your reviews. As always, I hope I am writing something worth reading.

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**

NORA looked down at her dresser, an array of earrings and necklaces laid out. A frown appeared on her face, more so out of frustration for not being able to properly accessorize her outfit for tonight's dinner with Mary Louise's family.

When Mary Louise had approached her about it, after she returned home from the mall with Sage, she had laughed in Mary Louise's face. It was only when her girlfriend's face remained serious that she realized Mary Louise was not joking. At the time, she had said yes to going for dinner—but now her stomach was in knots from nerves.

Mary Louise came out of their shared bathroom. She looked stunning in a knee-length dark blue dress that hugged her curves and accented her figure. Her hair was styled straight, and she wore a pair of simple diamond earrings, with a matching necklace.

Nora had to resist the urge to rip Mary Louise's dress off and throw her on their bed. It would be so easy for her to walk over to Mary Louise and seductively suggest that tonight would be better spent in their bedroom instead. However, she knew that was partly her nerves talking. That, and well, Mary Louise was extremely irresistible.

Nora picked up a pair of earrings, put them up to her ear and sighed before placing them back down. "I should change."

Nora started to make her way over to her closet, but was stopped by Mary Louise, who gently grabbed her arm.

"You look gorgeous, my love," Mary Louise cooed. Nora was wearing a simple black dress that fell just above her knees, and her hair was curled and wavy.

"I can't find the proper accessories to match this outfit," Nora protested, which caused Mary Louise to shoot her a disbelieving look.

"Says the person who made an angel outfit off of Pinterest."

Nora ignored Mary Louise while making her way over to the closet. She opened the door and began to look at the other outfits she had. "Accessories are only as good as the outfit they accompany."

Mary Louise crossed her arms, turning to face Nora's back. "And are you going to find the perfect outfit in that closet to match all the jewelry Cynthia gave us? Or do you want to tell me what's _really_ bothering you?"

Nora's shoulder's slouched. Sometimes she hated how well Mary Louise knew her.

"You have nothing to be worried about, my love," Mary Louise reassured.

"Easy for you to say," Nora said as she turned around to face Mary Louise. "I'll be meeting your family. I won't be just 'Nora' to them. I'll be 'Nora-who-is-sleeping-with-their-daughter.'"

Mary Louise chuckled, a smile appearing on her face.

"Why are you smiling?" Nora asked.

"I can't help it," Mary Louise said as she walked over to Nora and gently grabbed her hands. "You're adorable."

Mary Louise gave Nora a quick, reassuring, kiss on the lips.

"Here," Mary Louise said after she parted from the kiss. She made her way over to Nora's dresser and carefully eyed the jewelry, before she grabbed a pair of diamond earrings and a matching necklace. They were simple and elegant.

Nora grabbed the earrings while Mary Louise put the necklace on Nora.

"I don't know why I am so nervous," Nora said as she clasped one of the diamond earrings in her ear. "Aren't you nervous?"

"No," Mary Louise said so suddenly that it took Nora by surprise.

"No?" Nora questioned as if she had misheard her. She was certain that out of the two of them, Mary Louise would be the most distressed. If Malcolm hadn't killed her family, and by happenstance she had run into them a century later, and was told to bring her significant other to a family dinner, well, she would be a wreck. Considering the abuse Mary Louise endured at her family's hands in the past, made her nonchalant answer that much more unsettling for Nora.

"Let's get this over with, shall we?" Mary Louise said as she picked up her clutch purse from off their bed.

Nora watched as Mary Louise headed toward the bedroom door. Mary Louise being extremely calm about this dinner raised the hairs on Nora's arm, and she worried that tonight's dinner menu would consist of Mary Louise's entire family.

* * *

THE home Mary Louise's family resided in was fairly large, but less extravagant than the Sanctuary. It was decorated nicely with belongings from almost every decade, and Nora had to admit that they did a good job of blending the old with the new.

"I'm so happy you both made it," Margret said as she led the two of them into the dining room. A large red oak table was decorated with the finest china and silverware Nora ever laid her eyes on.

"Thank you for inviting us," Nora responded. She noticed Mary Louise, or rather Mary Louise's lack of response, so she nudged her to not appear rude.

Mary Louise forced a fake smile. "Yes. It was _awfully_ generous of you."

Nora resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Sometimes Mary Louise's mannerisms reminded her of the eldest Salvatore brother, Damon. The way he acted around Lily was the way Mary Louise acted around her family. However, in Mary Louise's defense, her family, including her mother, did savagely beat her, and left her hanging for endless days and nights with the dead cattle in their slaughterhouse. Still, Nora wondered if a part of Lily took in Mary Louise because she reminded Lily of Damon.

"Mary Louise!" Came Victoria's excited voice as she entered the dining room through the kitchen. Nora snapped out of her own thoughts just in time to see Victoria wrap her arms around Mary Louise, and keep them there a minute too long.

As Victoria separated from the hug, she turned toward Nora. "You came."

Nora gave Victoria a polite smile, but she could tell by the tone in Victoria's voice that she meant it more as a question rather than a statement. _Of course I came,_ Nora thought. _Mary Louise is my girlfriend._

The door to the kitchen opened, and Luther, along with Mary Louise's three older brothers, Ephraim, Samuel and Noah, came out, holding various bottles of liquor. From the corner of Nora's eye, she could see Mary Louise stiffen.

Luther smiled, and it appeared warm and inviting. "I'm glad you both made it."

He extended his hand, inviting everyone to take a seat at the table.

"Can I offer anyone a drink?" Ephraim asked as he held up two bottles of wine. One was red, the other white.

"I'll take some white wine, Ephraim," Victoria said.

"I'll have white too," Margret added. "I always adore a nice glass of white."

Luther turned to Mary Louise and Nora. "And what will you ladies be drinking?"

"Red," They both said in unison, which peaked the interest of Mary Louise's eldest brother.

Ephraim leaned over the table. His voice cocky as Mary Louise remembered. "Tell me, did you both ask for red wine because it's dark like blood?"

Mary Louise's lips slightly curled, as a smirk started to form. Nora recognized that look. They had been inside for less than twenty minutes and already Mary Louise was being baited into showing her true form.

Nora placed her hand on top of Mary Louise's. "Actually, we've read that red wines pair nicely with red meats."

"That it does," Luther said. "Back in the 1800s, when I owned my own slaughterhouse and sold meats on the street, I often recommended a nice red wine with the meat."

Luther finished pouring the wine into his sons' glasses before he looked back at Mary Louise and Nora. "It's good to hear that you both have been doing some reading. Women aren't especially known for their skills in properly slaughtering an animal, and cutting them open, that's why I never allowed Mary Louise into the industry, even though she showed interest in learning. Women just aren't capable of that."

Mary Louise half laughed at Luther's comment as the kitchen door swung open again and the Wait-Staff appeared with trays of food.

"This looks magnificent," Victoria said to Margret, as the Staff individually plated food on their plates.

"Why are you complementing her?" Mary Louise asked. "It's not like she made it—she hired people to do it. You should send their regards to them."

Nora bit the inside of her cheek. Sometimes, her lover could be so crass.

"Not like you should be complaining," Samuel added. "We've only had Servants our whole lives."

"Nora," Luther interjected, ignoring his daughter's comment. "Tell us about your family. What did they do for a living?"

"My father had odd jobs," Nora answered. "From sweeping streets, to work houses."

"You grew up poor?" Noah asked. "How the hell did people from two different classes ever fall in love? I could never imagine being with a peasant?"

Nora looked down at her plate. Mary Louise had told her that she had come from a wealthy family when they first started to know each other. Hearing Mary Louise's childhood was completely different from hers. Sure, they had both come from the same Coven, but no amount of magic could make her family rich. But still, Mary Louise knowing that she was just a little street Urchin, they had still fallen in love, despite being from two extremely different classes.

It took every muscle in Mary Louise's body to stop herself from ramming her knife into her youngest brother's eye.

"Oh Noah," Mary Louise chimed in a sing-song-voice. "It's hard to imagine you finding anyone at all."

"Mary Louise!" Victoria scolded. "Don't tease your brother."

Ephraim laughed. "Honestly Victoria, it sounds like you are married to Mary Louise at times."

Victoria laughed, and her eyes briefly met Nora's. "Well, of course it sounds like that. I have known Mary Louise for a long time. We were inseparable back then, practically a married couple."

Nora took a sip of her wine, allowing the room temp liquid to swish in her mouth, getting hints of persimmon and blackcurrant before she swallowed. She knew Victoria was trying to get a rise out of her by trying to assert that Victoria knew and loved Mary Louise more than she did. If Victoria only knew that she had an engagement ring cloaked in her dresser drawer meant for Mary Louise.

The rest of the dinner was filled mostly with small talk. There were a few moments where Mary Louise appeared agitated, but for the most part she was able to control her anger. She wanted prove to Victoria that she was capable of being partly civil toward the people that had hurt her so badly.

The night was almost complete, and Mary Louise had just exited the powder room, heading back toward the kitchen. From behind a closed door she could hear whispers. If it weren't for her vampire super hearing, she wouldn't have heard it at all. She recognized the voices of her family members, and she could hear them talking about her.

"She's an abomination of nature," Mary Louise heard Luther say. "It doesn't matter what Victoria believes, I saw it in her eyes. She is a monster. They both are."

* * *

NORA laid wide awake on their bed, unable to sleep as tonight's evening plans played over and over in her mind. It went better than she expected, but after dinner Mary Louise had returned back to the dining room and said that they were leaving. _Now._ Nora didn't know what caused the sudden declaration, considering she had agreed to watch a slideshow of her family's adventures over the years. For a moment, Mary Louise had scared Nora, telling everyone she suddenly wasn't feeling well, and linked it to the time she was held captive by the Armory. Nora had demanded that she see Callum right away as soon as they got into the car and drove away, but Mary Louise assured her she was feeling fine, and that she just needed an excuse to get out of that place without appearing rude, though she never told her the reasoning behind their abrupt departure.

Nora turned her head to face Mary Louise, who was sound asleep, facing the window. She was proud of Mary Louise, knowing there were moments where she could have lost control, but didn't. She knew it wasn't easy for her girlfriend to be in the same room as her family, but she managed to go the whole night without physically hurting someone. That was a huge milestone for Mary Louise.

Nora heard a couple of soft, scared, moans come from Mary Louise, and saw her slightly tremble. She knew Mary Louise was having a nightmare. Sometimes they both would dream of times back in the late 1800s where their families were trying to kill them. Nora hadn't dreamt about her family for several decades, but now that Mary Louise had seen her family again, those nightmares had returned.

Nora moved herself closer to Mary Louise and wrapped her arms around her. Within seconds the trembling stopped, and she went back to quietly sleeping. Nora didn't know what the future had in store now that Mary Louise's family wanted involvement in their lives, but as long as Mary Louise was still in her life, she would face it head on.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N:** Unfortunately, over the summer, I will not have access to my computer as much as before. However, when I do have access to it, I will be updating until the story is finished. Thank you.

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN**

 _ **LONDON, 1882**_

LILY abruptly paused in front of their new home. It was dark by the time they had arrived back in London, and she wanted to give the girls a moment before they stepped inside.

Nora's eyes traced the home. Lily had been right, it was a significant downgrade from the Tavern, but it was still quite large enough to fit a family of eight, compared to the cramped home they had before the Tavern. Even still, every home she had lived with her new family was nicer than any home she had lived in as a child.

Lily smiled reassuringly as she opened the door. "Everyone will be so happy to see you both."

Mary Louise didn't even notice her hands were trembling, and even though Lily stood holding the door open, no muscle in her body could move.

Nora looked over at Mary Louise, giving her a reassuring smile as she grabbed her hand. She was nervous too, but she trusted Lily that things were going to be different this time around.

They both took a deep breath and entered the home. The sound of Beau singing from the living room greeted their ears. He had such a beautiful voice, and they both hadn't realized how much they missed hearing it on a nightly basis in the weeks they were gone.

Lily walked ahead of them, and stopped in the doorframe that joined the living room and the hall. There was a smile on her face, one the others hadn't seen in a long time.

"Lily, darling," Rang Julian's boastful voice, causing Beau to stop his song. "You've returned."

"I have," Lily said as she glanced at the members of her family. "And not alone."

Mary Louise and Nora were still in the hallway, still apprehensive of this whole thing. This was new to them too.

"You have nothing to be afraid about, girls," Lily reassured, and after a brief moment, they appeared from behind.

Beau was the first to greet them with a warm smile. "Welcome home, sisters."

Nora's voice was a little shaky. "It's good to be back."

"We're glad that you're back," Valerie said. "There was too much testosterone without you two."

Nora smiled sheepishly. She appreciated Valerie's words, and her joke had lightened the mood. Yet, she still felt a sense of uneasiness and from the corner of her eye, she could see that Mary Louise had felt it too.

An unfamiliar voice sounded, causing Nora and Mary Louise to exchange looks, as a man made his way into the living room.

Lily too appeared off guard. "I wasn't aware we had company."

Julian sat up from his seat and made his way over to his friend. He put an arm around the man's shoulder. "Darling, I told you about Marty."

Nora swallowed hard. The last time Julian had brought a friend home, it didn't go well, and memories of unwanted sexual advances flashed in her head. Julian still had no idea that Mary Louise had killed him, and if he was anything like Richard, she feared he would meet the same fate.

"Lily, it is so nice to finally meet you," Marty said as he slightly bowed. "Julian has told me a lot of good things about you."

"I wish I could say the same," Lily said. Her voice was sharp but polite. One could never tell if she was being kind or insulting or both.

Marty turned his attention to Mary Louise and Nora. "And you two must be the runaways."

Mary Louise felt a lump in her throat, and she searched her family member's faces for answers—did Julian tell this strange man about Nora and her? She found the answer in Oscar's face, as he looked down at the hardwood floor. He had.

"Julian tells me you both are in a relationship…with each other," Marty continued to say, slowly approaching the two of them. "I'm sure there are plenty of nice blokes you gals can meet."

The room went quiet, even Julian seemed to be surprised by Marty's words.

"Well, isn't that revolting…two Sapphic females. And I thought being a vampire hybrid was bad." He full on stopped in front of Mary Louise, his eyes meeting hers. He could tell she was nervous, ashamed even.

Nora was quick to notice and her eyes narrowed. The tiny woman could no longer stand the mockery. "That's enough!" She said as she clenched her fist in the air, causing Marty to fall onto the ground in agony as he clutched his head.

"Nora," Julian said. His voice was slightly confused and concerned for his friend. "I'm sure he didn't mean harm by his words. This is new."

"This isn't exactly a picnic for them either," Valerie muttered. She quite enjoyed seeing Julian's friend suffer.

"Please, make this—Sapphic freak stop!" Marty cried out in pain. "My head is on fire."

"You want me to stop the pain?" Nora asked while looking directly at Marty. "You should have just said so."

Nora lowered her hand, and all that was left of the reminder was Marty panting on the ground in pain. He looked at Nora directly in the eye, his mouth moving to say something, but cut short by Nora using her vampire speed to run up to him, and rip his head clean off—a feat that surprised even Mary Louise.

The room grew even quieter as Nora held the decapitated head of Marty in her hand. Her eyes were vicious and angry, and the words she spoke next were heightened with anger.

"We didn't come back to be mocked, or have our relationship be considered less than anyone else's. If any of you have a problem with that speak now and Mary Louise and I will be on our way."

Nora's angered eyes met everyone in the rooms. Mary Louise was too stunned to even say or do anything, even though this wasn't the first friend of Julian's that had been killed. However, Nora had killed him in front of everyone.

Lily cleared her throat. She looked upset, but no one could tell if it was over the fact that Nora had killed one of Julian's friends, or that Julian's friend had been so insulting to a relationship she tried to mend, that compelled Nora to kill.

Lily finally spoke. "What I said was true. We do accept who you are and your relationship together. In the future"—she looked directly at Julian—"we will be more mindful of who we invite in our home, and make sure they extend the same courtesy. We don't want you to hide who you are here."

Nora seemed to register Lily's words, and her facial expression softened. As she dropped the head to the ground she said, "Very well."

Lily turned to Valerie. "Why don't you give them both a quick tour of the place and show them their room."

Valerie obliged, getting up from her seat.

As the three young ladies headed out of the living room, they could hear Lily say, "Malcolm, Beau and Oliver, will you three be darlings and dispose of this body while I have a word with Julian?"

* * *

MARY LOUISE could feel Nora's eyes watching her from behind, as she got ready to spend an evening out with Victoria. Part of Mary Louise knew Nora was not fond of the idea, but she had said yes anyway.

"You're angry," Mary Louise said casually as she finished touching up her eyeliner. Nora was sitting on the edge of the bed, her arms crossed.

"No," Nora protested almost too quickly. "I'm glad that you are able to reconnect with Victoria." Those words sounded off coming out of her mouth, and she hoped Mary Louise hadn't noticed it.

Mary Louise smirked. "Of course. Just like I enjoyed the road trip with you and Bonnie."

Nora's face fell. There was no hiding anything from this woman. She knew her way to well.

Part of Nora wanted Mary Louise to feel like she could have friendships and a life outside of her. After all, she had gotten to experience that with Bonnie, why shouldn't Mary Louise get to experience that again with Victoria.

Mary Louise turned around so she was facing Nora, their eyes meeting. She knew Nora was good at deflecting, but she was good at getting what she wanted. She never said anything, and just stared at Nora.

"Do you like her?" Nora suddenly blurted out after several minutes of silence.

"Victoria?" Mary Louise questioned as she leaned against the dresser. "We were very close friends."

Nora shook her head. "I mean _like_ her like her."

Mary Louise went quiet, her eyes diverting from Nora's for a brief moment. "Once, I liked her more than a friend should like a friend."

Nora wasn't too happy to hear Mary Louise's response, but deep down she knew Mary Louise had feelings for Victoria.

"Did she know?" Nora asked. She wanted to have this conversation with Mary Louise for a while now, and she wasn't going to let Mary Louise divert the subject like she always did. Being in a relationship meant being open and honest with one another, and if Mary Louise couldn't share her past life with her, what hope of a future did they have?

Mary Louise put her hands on the dresser and then shrugged. "I don't think so. She seemed awfully upset when she found out I am gay."

Nora slightly nodded her had, briefly forgetting that incident. "Do you still?"

"Still what?" Mary Louise asked.

"Have feelings for her?"

The room went quiet, and Nora was certain that Mary Louise could hear her heart pounding in her chest as she braced for an answer.

"Growing up, Victoria was my sanctuary. We were very close friends—we did everything together. Having her back in my life has brought back some very fond memories I had long since forgotten."

Nora swallowed.

"But those feelings I had for her, the ones that kept me up all night, the ones where I wished she would be mine—those are long gone."

Nora met Mary Louise's gaze. "You two have history. How can you be certain those feelings are gone?"

Mary Louise smiled. "Because I fell deeply and madly in love with someone else. Love changes people, Nora."

Mary Louise stood upright, before making her way to the bedroom door. "I would say not to wait up for me, but I know you will."

Nora watched Mary Louise exit their bedroom. It felt nice to hear that Mary Louise was not in love with Victoria anymore, that Mary Louise only had those feelings for her. In a weird way, it felt as though a weight had been lifted, and she no longer viewed Victoria as a threat—even if she still didn't completely trust her.

* * *

CALLUM ran to the door, after a knock interrupted their movie night. As he opened the door, it was forcefully pushed open, and Cyrus barged into his home, along with a group of ten Veiled Coven members.

"Nice place you got here," Cyrus said as he grabbed Callum forcefully by the arm. "Where is everyone?"

"Screw you," Callum spat, but the sound coming from the television in the living room gave away his family's position.

Cyrus dragged Callum toward the living room, and once they got in, he threw him hard, and Callum landed on the glass coffee table, shattering it.

"Callum!" Sage screamed, as everyone got up from their seats. Nora, Barron and Jonas quickly transformed, measuring their opponents. Cyrus had attacked their home.

Cynthia was bent over Callum, who was unconscious and bleeding from the glass.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jonas growled.

"Taking care of business," Cyrus answered.

With a wave of his hand, he sent Sage flying toward the wall. Jonas, Barron and Nora wasted no more time and went on the attack. They had taken care of Cyrus and his gang numerous of times. Adam went over to the fireplace to grab a weapon to defend Cynthia and Callum.

Nora approached one of the Veiled members, but as soon as she touched their skin, her skin began to burn. She gasped in pain, before another member hit her with a Vervain dart.

Barron and Jonas watched as Nora fell to the ground. This wasn't good. They had come prepared.

Barron looked over at Cyrus, and quickly leaped, his sharp claws making contact on Cyrus's neck, slashing it. As Cyrus fell critically injured on the floor, another member had struck him with a tranquilizer, before hitting Adam and Cynthia with tranquilizers too.

Jonas was the only one left standing, and as the remaining members swarmed him, it was impossible for him to fight back as two grabbed him, while another one shot him with a dart.

As Jonas began to lose consciousness, he could hear one of the Veiled members say: "Leave Cyrus, he's as good as dead now. We follow our orders. Collect these misfits and bring them to the Order."


	28. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT**

WHEN Mary Louise arrived home it was late. _Really late_. Time had seemed to escape when she was with Victoria, like it had over 100 years ago when they would spend their days roaming London and exploring all its little nooks and crannies. The tension that seemed to be present had dissipated, and for once, Mary Louise felt as though she could reestablish a genuine friendship with Victoria, and they talked for hours about how it could be different and the same in all the right ways.

As Mary Louise entered the quiet Sanctuary, her first thought went to Nora. No doubt, Nora would be awake in their room, reading some book Sage had recommended. Mary Louise knew Nora wouldn't comment on how late she was, but it would be there—in her eyes. She wasn't stupid. She knew Nora didn't fancy Victoria, but she had hoped that maybe the three of them could build a beautiful friendship. If she could change her stubborn ways, she was sure Nora could as well.

As Mary Louise was about to head up the stairs, a faint sound from the television in the living room caught her attention. There would only be two people, that she could think of, that would be up this late watching some absurd show about how things work, and that was either Callum or Adam or both.

Mary Louise quickly looked up at the second floor, deciding to delay the inevitable for now, and see just exactly what was playing on the television.

As she got closer to the living room, she could feel something was not right, and her suspicions were confirmed when she noticed the living room trashed. A picture that hung over the fireplace mantel was shattered on the ground. There was blood on the wall, and the coffee table was flipped on its side, like a fight had broke out. Mary Louise stood still for a moment, her eyes widening in horror, and the colour draining from her face.

The sound of a low gurgling noise grabbed her attention, and as she scoured the room with her eyes, she could make out a figure on the ground. Using her vampire speed she rushed over as quickly as she could to see Cyrus, half dead, on the ground, with his hand covering his neck.

Mary Louise bit into her arm, and she crouched down and forcefully fed her blood to Cyrus. It was a miracle he was still alive, and as she saw the slash marks on his neck, she knew that either Jonas or Barron had got one good swing at him.

Mary Louise watched as the wound slowly started to heal, and as she removed her arm, she looked Cyrus straight in the eyes. He had a smile on his face now.

"Foolish girl," Cyrus said. "Why would you heal me?"

"I need answers," Mary Louise said, her voice laced with anger. "Where are they? Where is Nora?"

Cyrus only laughed, causing some blood to spit out of his mouth and land on Mary Louise's clothes. "They're gone. Soon to be dead."

Mary Louise's eyes flashed with anger. He was a witch, so she couldn't compel him to tell her the truth. "Tell me, or I will make sure you suffer."

Cyrus was quiet for a moment, but there was still a large, cocky, smile on his face. It was as if he was debating telling her the truth.

He sighed. "I might as well. See, what you and your friends have been calling the 'Veiled Coven', it's actually an organization called The Order."

"Who's in charge?" Mary Louise asked, which caused Cyrus to laugh.

After a moment, Cyrus finally answered. "Your family."

Mary Louise pushed herself away in shock, his words feeling like a punch in the gut. She wanted to call him a liar. She wanted him to be lying, but she knew he wasn't.

"Foolish girl," He said again. "You won't be able to stop us. And now that I have your blood inside me, I'll come back as a vampire."

Mary Louise turned her gaze back onto Cyrus. "Why?"

"Many reasons. But your family believed you to be a freak, and now a Monster. What better way to hurt a Monster than to hurt the things the Monster cares about?"

"Do you know where they are?" Mary Louise asked. "My family?"

"I don't know where Luther is on a day-to-day basis," Cyrus joked, which caused Mary Louise's eyes to turn a blood red.

As Mary Louise dug her fingers in Cyrus's wound, and as he screamed out in pain, she clarified, "Not Luther. My. Family."

Mary Louise loosened her strength on Cyrus, enough for him to answer. "I don't know. Our orders were to drop the van off somewhere remotely and they would take them somewhere. That's all I know."

"Thank you," Mary Louise said, as she reached into Cyrus's chest and pulled his heart out, making sure he would never complete the process of turning into a vampire.

She picked herself up from the ground, throwing Cyrus's heart on the floor. If her biological family wanted a Monster, she would give them one.

* * *

" _NORA._ Nora!"

Nora's eyes slowly opened, the pain from the Vervain still coursing through her veins. Drowsily, she tilted her head to where the sound was coming from, and she saw Sage strapped down to a table with a terrified look on her face.

"Thank God you're alright," Sage said as they both made eye contact. It was only then that Nora had realized she too was strapped to a table.

"Are you okay?" Nora managed to ask.

"Physically, yes. I can't use my magic." Sage's eyes wondered down to an amulet strapped on her neck that was slowly siphoning her ability to use magic.

Nora was relieved that Sage was okay, but her mind quickly went on the others. So far, there was no sign of Adam, Cynthia, Callum, Barron or Jonas. She may have not known them long, but she loved and cared for them as if they were her family.

Sage could sense Nora's concern. "I'm worried about them too. But we aren't the only ones in this room."

Nora was momentarily confused, and she titled her head to the right to see a man, around her age, lying onto a table unstrapped. He looked sick—dead even. She didn't know who he was, but every part of her knew it wasn't good.

"I see you've met Thomas," Came a familiar voice. Nora's eyes narrowed.

 _Victoria._

Nora watched as Victoria came into her view, and she watched as Victoria walked over to Thomas and lovingly ran her hand through his hair. There was a look in her eyes that Nora recognized. It was the same look Adam and Cynthia gave each other. It was the same look she gave Mary Louise, and the same look Mary Louise gave to her.

"You bitch," Sage suddenly said. "What have you done with my family?"

Victoria laughed. "They're alive…for now."

Nora suddenly jolted in her restraints, her heart suddenly beating faster. Mary Louise had spent the night with Victoria. If she had been the one to organize the attack—

Victoria met Nora's gaze. "Mary Louise is alive too, if you think I killed her."

Nora let out a breath of relief, before she asked, "What do you want from us?"

"Your magic. You see, when Luther"—She watched Sage and Nora slowly put the pieces together of who was involved in this grand scheme –"gave a select few of us who left the Gemini Coven a chance of longevity, we took it. When Luther, Margret, Ephraim, Samuel and Noah cast the spell, everyone came out okay, except Thomas, who was rendered in an ageless sleep."

"What's that have to do with us?" Sage asked.

"Luther promised if I worked for him, he would help me bring Thomas back. He told me that if I took the power from a witch, through a spell, I could get him back."

"You literally have had an endless supply of witches," Sage pointed out. "Like a whole freaking Veiled Coven."

"Back in the 70's, I grew impatient. I had tried to resurrect Thomas with the aid of one of the members. They died quickly. I then tried with two. Five. Even eight members—that time was close. I realized I need an unlimited amount of magic…someone, or something that could collect the power from both another witch, themselves, and Thomas."

"A Siphoner," Sage said, to which Victoria nodded.

"It's a shame all of your family is dead, Nora. I could have used their siphoning…but alas, you will do."

"You won't get away with this," Nora said. "Mary Louise"—

"Mary Louise will forget all about you and her pathetic new family once I bring Thomas back," Victoria snapped. "It will be like old times, and knowing Mary Louise, she'll forget about you all in a second. You're nothing compared to me."


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N:** Finally had access to my computer. Thank you for your patience over the summer. I assure you this story is not being abandoned. I am just super busy with life. I will update when I have access to my computer. Thank you.

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE**

THERE was something about the hunt that made Mary Louise feel alive. Hearing the hard throbbing of one's jugular vein that set her teeth on edge. Mostly, she hunted for food, occasionally playing with it first. But tonight the hunt was different. Tonight her only motivation was finding Nora and her newfound family.

Mary Louise found her brothers, stumbling out of a bar, drunk. Growing up, it wasn't uncommon for them to sneak off and wonder into the local pubs and get rowdy. Of course, Mary Louise was forbidden from joining them, but even after a century, she was happy to see that old habits didn't die.

The sounds of their laughs grated her ears, and she tried her best to shake it off as she followed them in the back ally. She wanted them to know she was there.

Ephraim, who was in the middle, suddenly stopped laughing, putting out both his arms in front of his brothers in a protective manner—he sensed something was off.

Samuel and Noah stopped laughing as well, but their drunken minds couldn't figure out what was wrong.

"Who is out there?" Ephraim yelled to the dark shadows. There was no response.

Noah put his hand on Ephraim's shoulder, and with a chuckle said, "I think you had too much to drink."

Ephraim shook him off. He knew when he was being followed. "Reveal yourself at once!"

"If you insist," Mary Louise said as walked into the dim ally. She noticed Ephraim's eyes narrow.

"What brings you out here, sister?" Samuel asked.

Mary Louise looked around. "Well, I figured, since it has been over a century since we last saw each other we can let bygones be bygones and start fresh with a pint. My treat."

"I could go for another drink," Noah said.

Ephraim kept his eyes on Mary Louise. "Don't be so thick, brother. We are not having a drink with a freak."

Mary Louise's face fell. "And here I thought we were going to start over."

"Not ever," Ephraim said. "Not with you."

There was a slight pause, and then Mary Louise shrugged. "Well, I guess that's enough of the pleasantries. It would have been nice to catch up with you lot, but I guess another time."

"Don't hold your breath," Ephraim said. "You're lucky I don't kill you here and now."

"And you're lucky I haven't killed you all yet."

Before Ephraim could process what Mary Louise said, she had disappeared in a flash. He silently cursed her vampire speed, and watched in horror was both of his brothers fell wordlessly to the ground.

"Brothers!" He screamed. He wanted to check if they were still alive. "Come out and fight me, you coward!" His eyes frantically searched the abandoned ally, and before long, he felt a hand grasp his arm. He remembered that painful touch, as his magic slowly drained from his body.

Mary Louise stood over him, absorbing all his magic. She could tell he was in pain, and that's what she wanted. Tranquilizers easily took out Noah and Samuel that she took from Adam's lab, but Ephraim—she wanted him to suffer.

"Please…stop…" Ephraim begged. His face was pale. "It hurts."

Mary Louise felt nothing for her brother, because the pain of not knowing if her new family and Nora were alive hurt worse.

* * *

LUTHER laughed as he stumbled with his keys for the front door of his home. Last night had been a rare occasion where he and his wife, got to take a break and enjoy a night out in town. One of the members of the Order had thrown an extravagant party, and even though it was supposed to end early, wine and other booze had been passed around that time had just slipped away.

"This was a wonderful night," Margret commented. "The food was divine."

Luther only smiled as he opened the door to the foyer. He was glad his wife had a good time. He looked at her as he turned on the light, and watched as his wife's face suddenly went from happy to pure horror as a blood-curdling scream filled their home.

Luther turned his attention to what his wife was staring at. On the banister, cut open and gutted, were his sons. They were strung up like the dead cattle he used to have in his slaughterhouse. He slowly felt the colour from his face drain as his wife cried in anguish.

"I hope I did this right," Came Mary Louise's voice from upstairs. "My technique might be slightly off, after all, slaughtering animals isn't a girls job."

Luther made eye contact with his daughter. There was something about her—the way she walked and talked – as if she completely shut off her humanity.

"Those weren't animals, Mary Louise. They were your brothers!" Luther yelled.

"My brothers?" Mary Louise scoffed. "My brothers are Malcolm, Oscar, Beau, Callum, Barron and Jonas. Out of those six, three of them are dead, and three of them are missing."

"You're a monster," Luther said as he clenched his fists.

"If I am a monster, it's because you created one."

"I'll kill you!" Luther said as he began to charge up the stairs. In his rage, he forgot about Mary Louise's speed, because halfway up, she was standing in front of him with her hand in his chest, gripping his heart, siphoning the magic from him.

Margret gasped in horror as Mary Louise ripped his heart out. She watched as her daughter inspected it, before tossing it to the ground. She covered her mouth with her hands as Mary Louise slowly descended the stairs.

"Why?" Margret choked out as soon as Mary Louise was standing in front of her.

"Why? Because I have already lost one family, I will not lose another."

"You just killed your family…"

"You are not my family. Family does not string their daughter up in a slaughterhouse and beat her daily!"

Mary Louise searched Margret's eyes. "What I am now is because of what you all did to me back in the 1800s. If you tell me where they are—where Nora is—I promise your death will be quick."

"You can't compel me to tell you," Margret said. "It doesn't work with people who have magic."

Mary Louise knew that to be true. "You're right. So I guess I'll have to drain the magic out of you."

Mary Louise quickly grabbed Margret's arm with both her hands and began to siphon. She could see Margret becoming weaker. "Now tell me again. Where are they? Where's Nora?"


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N:** Thank you to all who have read/reviewed this story. It meant a lot.

* * *

 **CHAPTER THIRTY**

NORA winced in pain. Sometime in the point of drifting in and out of consciousness, Victoria had thought it was much more effective to give her a slow moving IV drip of Vervain, to make sure she was incapacitated.

Nora's eyes wandered over to Sage. She too was incapacitated, and as they both locked eyes they could both see the same concern for their family in their eyes.

"I don't like this, Nora," Sage whispered. "And I don't know how we are going to get out of this."

Nora understood Sage's concern, and it obviously didn't help that they were both drifting in and out of consciousness. God only knows if they had been here for a few hours or days.

"It'll be alright," Nora managed to say, her words labored with pain. "It has to be."

Sage wished she could be as optimistic as Nora, and she was hoping that Victoria had been telling them the truth that Mary Louise and their family were alive. She wondered if Mary Louise had been back to the Sanctuary, or if Victoria was keeping her drugged somewhere until whatever she wanted from them was completed? That thought caused her stomach to turn.

The sound of Victoria coming back into the room caused them both to stiffen. Both their eyes followed Victoria as she walked over to Thomas and gently caressed his face.

For a moment Nora felt bad for Victoria. Clearly she loved this man; otherwise she wouldn't have gone through all this trouble to bring him back. She also knew that if that were Mary Louise, she would have done the exact same thing. She would move heaven and hell for Mary Louise, no matter what it cost or whom it cost.

Victoria could sense that she was being watched, and as she turned to face the two women she captured she could see two different things in their eyes. In Sage's, it was anger and fear—the rational feelings of one who has been kidnapped, drugged, and tied down. However in Nora's eyes, she saw something completely different. There was no fear, no pain—not even anger. It was sadness…maybe even pity, or understanding.

"We're not that different," Nora said, and she knew she had grabbed Victoria's attention. "You love Thomas and would do anything for him."

Victoria let out an exhausted sigh. She knew what Nora was trying to imply—that Nora would do anything for Mary Louise. Even still, she hated the idea that what she had with Thomas was the same as what Nora had with Mary Louise.

Nora continued, "Do you honestly believe Mary Louise will be your friend still if she finds out what you have done to her family? To me?"

"As I said for the hundredth time, Mary Louise will get over it," Victoria snapped. "All she needs is to remember what it was like before all of this. It won't be much longer now. I suggest if you believe in a God, you make peace with them now."

* * *

IT didn't take long for Mary Louise to arrive at The Order's hideaway. It was laughable at how easily her mother caved and told her everything she needed to know. She almost felt sorry for her mother, the way she begged to have her life spared before she snapped her neck, and left her body to rot with the rest of the people she once called her family.

Mary Louise used a cloaking spell to enter the grounds. The Order was smart, using magic to secure their premises. She guessed they weren't expecting a Siphoner to ever barge in, because she was easily able to Siphon the spells and gain access. Luckily for her, the members of the Order weren't big on groups, and she was able to massacre whoever came in her path without much effort.

The Order's place was a maze, and she found herself running in, what felt like, circles, trying to find Nora and her family. She tried to think where she would hide someone, and she tried to look for things that would lead her into a secret room or a basement dungeon. If any of them were harmed in anyway, she would show no mercy.

While still under a cloaking spell, Mary Louise followed two members of the Coven, hoping they would lead her where her family was being held. After aimlessly following them around for what felt like forever, they finally led her to secret hideaway that opened ever so slightly. Mary Louise could see the stairs heading down, and she knew that was the easiest bet to find her beloved and her family. She quickly ripped out the hearts of the two members she was following and ran down the stairs. She hoped whoever else was responsible for this was prepared for her wrath.

* * *

CYNTHIA sat on the cold, dirty floor of the cell she, Adam, Callum, Jonas and Barron were in. Her mind was plagued with the worst-case scenarios of what happened to Sage and Nora, and as a mother, it was hard for her mind not to wander there. She had already lost her other children, and she knew her heart wouldn't be able to stand losing anymore.

Adam and Callum were trying to figure out what spell had been placed on the bars, as Barron and Jonas had been unable to touch it without getting hurt. Even if they wanted to power through the pain and use their combined superior strength to try and rip the bars off, Adam had put a stop to it almost immediately, as he feared the pain would be too much and they would die. Freedom was not worth family.

Suddenly Mary Louise materialized outside the bars, surprising the five of them.

"Mary Louise," Cynthia said with relief in her voice. "You're okay."

Mary Louise checked each and everyone over. There were some minor injuries, nothing too serious. She nodded her head. "Are you all right?"

"We'll be fine," Adam said. "We just need to get out of here and find"—

Mary Louise cut off Adam. "Where is Sage? Where is Nora?"

The five of them went quiet, but Callum's eyes went over to a large door. Mary Louise noticed and she turned around to see what he was looking at.

"We think they are somewhere in that room," Barron said.

"We were trying to escape, but they put a damn spell on these bars and we can't touch them," Jonas added.

Mary Louise turned back to face them. She put her hands on the bars, and winced in pain as she began to Siphon the spell off.

"These bars are old," Mary Louise commented. "If the three of us use our strength, we can probably pry them off."

It didn't take long for them to remove two of the bars. Mary Louise expected them to slowly start making their way out of the cell, but they all stood in their place.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Mary Louise asked.

"There's something you should know," Cynthia said. "The person who has Sage and Nora…it is Victoria."

* * *

"SOON my love," Victoria said as she gave Thomas one last kiss. The ritual was in place, and with the combined magic of Sage and Nora, she would be reunited with her true love at any moment. She had waited over a century for this day, and finally it was coming into fruition.

Sage swallowed hard. She knew there was no way she would be able to use her magic and come out of this alive. It was too much in a short time, and she knew that was why Victoria needed them.

"Let's begin, shall we?" Victoria said.

It wasn't as if Nora and Sage had a choice. There was an amulet that had begun to painfully siphon the magic from both of them. Nora tried her best to Siphon the Siphon, but in her weakened state from the Vervain, it wasn't working as well as she planned.

Victoria's eyes were wide with hope as some colour started to return to Thomas's cheek. There was more of a red colour in his face than she had achieved using members of the Order.

Sage could feel herself growing weak. She started to feel as Thomas had looked before this ritual began, and she estimated that she wouldn't survive much longer without help. She closed her eyes and wondered what death would be like.

"Victoria!"

The familiar voice caused Sage to open her eyes and turn to see Mary Louise, along with Barron and Jonas.

"Mary Lou," Nora whispered. She was relieved to see her alive.

"What are you doing here?" Victoria demanded.

"Are you surprised?" Mary Louise asked. She didn't need Victoria to answer verbally. She could see in her eyes that she was.

"I find it hard to believe your family gave this up," Victoria said.

"She can be very persuasive," Nora said through a chuckle.

"And by persuasive she means I killed them all," Mary Louise said. "It was quite pathetic how my mother begged for her life."

"You're not the same," Victoria said. "I did this all for us. I wanted it to be like old times."

It was only after Victoria had said that did Mary Louise notice Thomas in the room. Every spell came at a price. Her face faltered.

"You love him," Mary Louise said.

"You know I do," Victoria said. Her voice was sad.

Mary Louise looked at Nora, and then back at Victoria. "I do know. Which is why I want to make a trade. Let Sage and Nora go, and you can have me instead."

Victoria, Barron, Jonas, Nora and Sage were surprised by Mary Louise's words.

"I Siphoned off the magic from five of the most powerful members of this Coven. You don't need them."

"Mary Louise," Nora said. "You'll die."

"And if I don't, you will die," Mary Louise said as she looked directly at Nora. She couldn't live in a world without Nora, and she knew Nora would be okay.

Victoria was contemplating it, and Mary Louise could tell.

"Please, Victoria. If I ever meant anything to you at all—if our friendship meant anything, you will do this for me."

Victoria was quiet for a moment. She sighed and grabbed the amulet, temporarily stopping the ritual.

"Thank you," Mary Louise said as Barron and Jonas quickly rushed over to Sage and Nora, helping them up.

"No," Nora said as she looked directly at Mary Louise. "I can't let you do this. "This is suicide."

Jonas knew Nora was right, and for a moment he hesitated.

"I'm not leaving," Nora protested.

Mary Louise knew this was hard for Nora. "Just know that I love you. I always have. I always will." She turned to Jonas. "Get her out of here."

Mary Louise cringed at the sound of Nora screaming in protest as she made her way out of the room.

"She cares, I'll give her that much," Victoria said as she used her magic to shut the door behind them. "But I have no doubt she will move on from you quickly, my dearest friend."

Mary Louise laughed. "I'm afraid you don't know Nora as well as I do. This will be hard for her."

Victoria looked at Mary Louise. "As it will for me. Just so you know, I didn't want it to be like this."

Mary Louise slowly made her way over to Thomas. "I know. And I'm sorry."

"For what?" Victoria asked.

"For this," Mary Louise said as she dug her hand into Thomas's chest and ripped out his heart. Within seconds his body turned into ash, leaving Victoria horrified.

"You bitch!" Victoria said as she used her magic to throw Mary Louise against the wall. "I'll kill you!"

Mary Louise picked herself up from off the ground. "Good. You're angry. But you're angry with the wrong person. Thomas was never coming back. They used him for the spell. He died back in the 1800s."

"Liar! It was working."

"No it wasn't. You were just transferring an imaginary life force. Sage and Nora would have died for nothing. I could sense the spell on Thomas after I Siphoned magic from Luther. He used Thomas to use you for his own twisted agenda."

Victoria used her magic to slowly begin to choke Mary Louise. "Once I am done with you, I will kill Nora. And then I will kill your fake family. Slowly. Painfully. They'll curse the day they met you!"

Tears were streaming down Victoria's face. "Maybe I'll just keep you alive long enough to watch me kill Nora in front of you! How would you like that?"

"You…won't…touch…Nora…" Mary Louise said between breaths.

"Watch me," Victoria said, as she used a spell to pin Mary Louise against the wall. She watched as Mary Louise struggled to move. "And here I thought you would put up more of a fight."

Victoria began to make her way toward the door, thinking about how she was going to kill Nora in front of her. But before she could take another step, she felt a sharp pain in her back. As she tilted her head, she could see Mary Louise behind her with her hand inside her body.

"How?" Victoria said as blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. "I had you…"

"No," Mary Louise replied as she tore Victoria's heart out. She watched as her friend crumpled to the ground, and she fell to her knees as tears streamed down her own face. She cradled Victoria's body, not entirely sure why she was crying.

* * *

"WHY did you take me out?" Nora said in anger as she pounded Jonas's chest. She was still weak from the ordeal, but she was adamant on getting back into that room.

"We can go back in there before it's too late," Sage said. "We can stop Victoria before she kills Mary Louise."

"You two are in no position for a battle," Barron said.

"I don't care," Nora said. "I'm going in. I will not lose Mary Louise."

Nora made her way to the door and tried to open it. She sighed in frustration, as she couldn't even make it budge. She even tried to use her magic, but she was so drained, that it did absolutely nothing.

"Nora's right," Jonas finally said. "We're family, we leave no one behind." Jonas made his way to the door and used his strength to pull it open, and it didn't take long for Barron, Adam and Callum to join in as well. After a lot of effort, they were able to open it slightly, and then Sage and Nora used their combined magic to open it the rest of the way.

Nora rushed into the room. There were no signs of Victoria, Thomas, or Mary Louise, and she knew she was too late.

Nora could feel her heart racing, a wave of grief washing over her. She screamed out in agony.

From the other end of the room, Mary Louise stood up after hearing Nora scream. Her face was somber, and she looked at her family. There was sadness in her eyes, even though they all felt relief.

"It's over," Mary Louise said as she looked down on the ground. "Victoria is with Thomas now."

Nora walked closer to Mary Louise, to see exactly what she was looking at, and when she was close enough she could see Victoria's lifeless body on the ground.

Nora looked back at Mary Louise in silence, not exactly sure what to say, if there was even anything that could be said. Mary Louise had killed Victoria, and deep down she knew that Mary Louise would carry that with her for the rest of her life.

* * *

IT had been a week since the troubling ordeal they all had to face. In that time, Nora noticed that Mary Louise kept to herself. Any time she tried to speak about what happened she stopped herself. But still, she had been carrying a ring in her pocket every day since that day. When she thought she had lost Mary Louise for good, she realized there was only one thing she needed to do, but couldn't find the right time to do it.

Nora spotted Mary Louise alone in the courtyard. Nora noticed Mary Louise would go out every night and look up at the night sky. Tonight, in particular, there was full moon and Nora could see that she was staring out at it, thinking.

Nora cautiously made her way over to Mary Louise and sat next to her on the stone bench. She didn't say a word for the longest time.

"I know you think about her," Nora finally said.

Mary Louise cocked her head slightly.

"It's okay, you know. She was your friend. What you did, it couldn't have been easy."

Mary Louise took a breath. "It was."

Nora seemed confused. "Pardon?"

"My family, the people I grew up with, believed me to be a monster. They weren't wrong. Killing Victoria was easy. It was easy because she was going to hurt you. She was going to hurt our family. And I couldn't let that happen."

"You chose to save us, Mary Louise. That doesn't make you a monster."

"I ripped her heart out so easily. I let her believe that I was going to help her."

"Why? I thought you were dead."

"I had to. I had to make her believe it, and to make her believe it, I had to make you believe it. I knew, once the Ritual failed, she would have killed you and I couldn't let that happen…not without"—Mary Louise cut herself off.

"Not without what?"

"Nora. I love you. I have always loved you. Since the first day we met you had my heart. And I couldn't leave this earth without you being my wife."

Nora's eyes widened as Mary Louise pulled a ring out from her jacket pocket.

"You are the only person I want. I don't want to be what I was before. You make me a better person. This Sanctuary, these people, they make me better. I want to experience life with you. I want to marry you."

Nora covered her mouth, not expecting this at all. The ring was beautiful, and the diamond matched Mary Louise's eyes.

"Say something," Mary Louise said nervously.

Nora composed herself, and she reached into her pocket pulling out her own ring. "If you will be my wife, I will be yours."

"Nora…" Mary Louise said.

"Mary Lou, I can't live without you. Marry me and be my love."

"Yes, of course yes," Mary Louise said, and it felt like déjà vu.

Nora slid the ring on Mary Louise's finger and Mary Louise did the same for Nora.

"I mean it's no ring pop, but it will do," Nora joked, which caused Mary Louise to kiss her hard on the lips.

"It's wonderful," Mary Louise said as she looked at the green diamond. "It reminds me of your eyes."

"To a new start," Nora said.

"Then I guess we should tell our family the happy news."

Nora laughed. "They'll be happy for us."

"I know," Mary Louise said as she grabbed Nora's hand. For the first time, in a really long time, she knew the people that were in the inside would be genuinely happy for them.

"Shall we?" Nora said.

"Yes, we shall."

~END~


End file.
